Faisal Rubel Ahmed, a close associate of Karim Masud alias Rahul—the prime accused in the murder case of Inqilab Mancha convener Sharif Osman Hadi—has given a confessional statement in court.

Prosecution Sub-Inspector Rokonuzzaman disclosed the information on Sunday.

He said that after two rounds of remand totaling nine days, Rubel was produced before the court on Saturday by the investigation officer, CID Police Assistant Superintendent Abdul Qadir Bhuiyan.

As Rubel voluntarily agreed to make a confessional statement, the investigating officer applied to record it. Following the application, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mahbubur Rahman recorded his statement and later sent him to jail.

CID, with the assistance of DB, arrested Rubel from the Ati Nayabazar area of South Keraniganj late on January 21. The following day, the court granted a six-day remand, and last Wednesday, an additional three days were approved.

Hadi, who rose to prominence through the July uprising and the movement to ban the Awami League, had announced his plan to contest the 13th parliamentary election as an independent candidate from Dhaka-8. He was shot on December 12 last year by an assailant riding a motorcycle.

Critically injured, Hadi was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and later admitted to Evercare Hospital. He was flown to Singapore for treatment two days later and died there on December 18.

Following the shooting, on December 14, Inqilab Mancha member secretary Abdullah Al Jaber filed a case of attempted murder. Later, Section 302 (murder) was added to the case. After initially being handled by the police, the investigation was handed over to the DB police.

After completing the investigation, DB police submitted a charge sheet on January 6 against 17 accused, including former ward councillor Taizul Islam Chowdhury Bappi and former Chhatra League activist Faisal Karim Masud, in connection with Hadi’s murder.