District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Abul Mansur handed down the death penalty in a crowded court with only arrested Kalu Mia alias Kaosar, 28, on the dock in the noon for slaughtering Abdul Awal.

Awal's son-in-law Quddus Ali,30, and his associates Hajrat Ali,32, Zulhash, 35, and Firoze Mia, 33, have been absconding since the murder on January 14 in 1999.

Quddus, mastermind of the murder to capture 18 decimal of land of his father-in-law, was the main accused in the case.

Police had arrested Kaosar, Quddus Ali and Firoz soon after the incident. They gave confessional statements to a first class magistrate. At the initial stage of trial, all the four fugitives remained present in the court, but they went hiding after securing bail from the High Court.

Abdul Awal was slaughtered when he left his home for Dhaka for a work relating to land on January 14, 1999. His body was recovered from near Rahim Market at Shanarpar in Shiddhirganj.