The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Wednesday awarded life term imprisonment to a person who was earlier acquitted by the High Court (HC) over the murder of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) leader Marfat Ali.
A four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain delivered the verdict following an appeal by the government.
Siraj Mandal was sentenced to death by a sessions judge's court in Kushtia in 1998. Eight others were sentenced to life imprisonment by the court, but they were all released from the charges when they moved the High Court in 2000.
 "Siraj is probably out on bail," said Deputy Attorney General Khondakar Diliruzzaman, who represented the state in the apex court. "He'll have to surrender in court if he is on bail."
Marfat Ali, former chairman of Kushtia's Mirpur Upazila and JSD (Rab) leader, was once known as a farmer in the northern region. He was shot dead on Feb 17, 1991 at Kursha Union during a campaign for the parliamentary elections held later that month.
Siraj Mandal was the leader of the local extremist gang 'Siraj Bahini', and the others accused were members.