Dhaka: All the accused in Bushra rape and murder case were acquitted as the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday allowed appeals of two prime accused and dismissed appeal of the state against acquittal order for another two.

A four-member Appellate Division panel headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha issued the order, allowing appeal of MA Kader and his wife Runu Kader against the High Court order that sentenced Kader to death and Runu to life imprisonment for the crime that were committed in 2000.

The apex court also dismissed state appeal against the 2007 High Court order that acquitted Kader’s brothers-in-law Sheikh Shawkat Ahmed and Sheikh Kabir Ahmed.

Dhaka City College student Rushdania Bushra was raped and subsequently murdered in her house on 1 July, 2000.

A special tribunal in 2003 sentenced Kader and his two relatives to death and his wife to life imprisonment.

In 2007, the High Court acquitted Shawkat and Kabir, upholding sentences of Kader and Runu.