The Murder of Sohel Chowdhury

Sohel Chowdhury, a prominent Bangladeshi actor of the 1990s, was shot dead in Banani, Dhaka, on December 18, 1998. The murder case was charged the following year but became an extraordinary example of delayed justice after trial proceedings were stayed for roughly 18 years. A verdict finally arrived in May 2024.

The killing

Sohel Chowdhury was fatally shot near Trumps Club in Abedin Tower in Dhaka's Banani area. His brother, Touhidul Islam Chowdhury, filed a murder case with Gulshan Police Station. Contemporary reporting on the later judgment notes that the original case was filed against unidentified assailants, making it important not to retroactively present every person later charged as having been identified at the scene.

Investigation and charges

Police filed a charge sheet against nine accused on July 30, 1999. Charges were formally framed in October 2001, and the matter was later transferred to Dhaka's Speedy Trial Tribunal-2.

The prosecution's charge-sheet theory was that Sohel had opposed activities associated with Trumps Club and that conflict had developed with businessman Aziz Mohammad Bhai. Reporting described a prior altercation and said the prosecution linked that dispute to the killing. That account is presented as the prosecution theory, not as an independently established motive beyond the judgment itself.

An 18-year interruption

The case did not move continuously toward trial. After a petition by accused Adnan Siddiqui, the High Court stayed the proceedings in 2004. The stay remained in place for approximately 18 years and was lifted on February 27, 2022.

By the time the tribunal could complete evidence, many years had passed. The trial judge later criticized the extraordinary delay and observed problems in the evidentiary record, including unavailable or deceased witnesses and inconsistencies in testimony.

The May 9, 2024 judgment

On May 9, 2024, Judge Arunabh Chakraborty of Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-2 convicted three defendants: Aziz Mohammad Bhai, Afakul Islam alias Bunty Islam, and Adnan Siddiqui. Each received life imprisonment and a monetary fine. Reporting from The Business Standard, The Daily Star and bdnews24 described the three men as fugitives or absconding at the time of the verdict.

The tribunal acquitted six other accused: Selim Khan, Sanjidul Islam Emon, Ashish Rai Choudhury alias Bottle Choudhury, Tariq Sayeed Mamun, Harun Ur Rashid alias Leather Liton, and Faruque Abbasi. The court found that the prosecution had not proved the allegations against them to the required standard.

Those acquittals matter. They prevent the case from being summarized as though all nine charged men were found criminally responsible for Sohel's death.

What the judgment did — and did not — establish

The 2024 judgment produced criminal convictions more than a quarter-century after the murder. It did not erase the weaknesses created by the long delay. Dhaka Tribune reported that the judge discussed missing case materials, unavailable witnesses, and testimony that the court considered biased or incomplete.

Nor does this dossier assume a later appellate outcome that was not located in reliable reporting during this review. The current classification rests on a documented trial judgment: three life sentences and six acquittals.

Timeline

1. December 18, 1998
   Sohel Chowdhury is killed

   The actor is shot dead near Trumps Club in Banani, Dhaka.

2. July 30, 1999
   Charge sheet filed

   Police submit charges against nine accused.

3. October 30, 2001
   Charges framed

   A Dhaka court formally frames charges in the murder case.

4. 2004
   Proceedings stayed

   A High Court order halts the trial after a petition from one accused.

5. February 27, 2022
   Stay lifted

   The long-standing suspension ends and the prosecution resumes.

6. May 9, 2024
   Three convicted, six acquitted

   Three defendants receive life sentences. Six others are acquitted because the charges against them were not proved.

Current status

Solved / Adjudicated at Trial. The 2024 trial judgment convicted Aziz Mohammad Bhai, Afakul Islam alias Bunty Islam and Adnan Siddiqui and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Six co-defendants were acquitted. The convicted men were reported as absconding at the time of judgment, and this file does not invent a later arrest or appeal result.