Behind bars for life
Porimol Joydhor, a sacked teacher of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, was sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment for raping a Class X student in 2011, ending a 39-month legal battle in the sensational case.
The Fourth Tribunal for Prevention of Women and Children Repression in Dhaka also fined him Tk 50,000, payable within 90 days, in default of which he will have to serve six more months in jail.
The violated girl will get the money as per the verdict pronounced by the tribunal Judge Saleh Uddin Ahmad.
The rape incident sparked huge protests among guardians and students of the school, which intensified with rights organisations expressing solidarity with them.
In many cases, families do not speak up due to the social stigma attached to incidents of rape. Against this backdrop, the determination and courage of the victim's family played a crucial role in getting justice with the court itself finding negligence in investigating the crime.
The judgment came at a time when the whole world observed the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women yesterday.
"We are satisfied with the verdict as the court handed [the accused] the highest punishment [for the crime] as per the existing law," the victim's grandfather told The Daily Star over the phone.
Though satisfied, a guardian of a student at the school said Porimol should have been handed the death penalty.
"He [Porimol] was a teacher, a profession which is regarded highly in our society. But he disgraced the entire teaching community and that's why he deserved more stringent punishment," he said, wishing not to be named.
In Bangladesh life imprisonment means 30 years in jail, but convicts generally serve 20 to 24 years as the authorities usually reduce the sentence considering their good behaviour and other activities, a jailer said, seeking anonymity.
But Porimol will serve even less as the court has ordered deducting the jail term he has already served since his arrest in July 2011 from the life imprisonment, court sources said.
Rights activist Sultana Kamal expressed satisfaction over the verdict. "Women victims will now find an example [of justice]," she said at a programme in the capital yesterday. She also stressed the disposal of hundreds of such cases pending with different courts.
According to the case statement, Porimol, a Bangla teacher at the Bashundhara branch of Viqarunnisa Noon School, raped the victim twice in May and June 2011. The victim's father filed a case in this connection the next month.
Porimol, who comes from Latenga village under Kotalipara upazila in Gopalganj, used to run a coaching centre at his Badda residence. He first raped the victim at his residence on May 28 and filmed her naked. He then threatened her with posting the video on internet in the case of her refusal to meet him later.
She was thus forced to meet Porimol at his house where he raped her again on June 17, the statement said.
But words got out and father of one of her classmates informed the victim's family of the matter. The school authorities, too, came to know about it.
However, no action was taken against the teacher until students and guardians took to the street, demanding Porimol's arrest and exemplary punishment.
Following widespread criticism, the school authorities sacked Porimol on July 5 and the victim's father filed the case the same day.
Husne Ara Begum, then principal, and Lutfur Rahman, administrative chief of the school's Bashundhara branch, were also implicated in the case for their alleged reluctance to take measure action against Porimol and their bid to cover up the incident.
Arrested within a day after the case was filed, Porimol later confessed to his crime before a court on July 11. His confession triggered further protests leading to Husne Ara's resignation from the institution.
On August 11 that year, police submitted a charge sheet before the court, dropping the names of Husne Ara and Lutfur Rahman. But they were included following further probe.
The court framed charges against Porimal on March 7, 2012, discharging the other two and the trial formally started on June 6 that year.
During the trial proceedings, the court recorded the testimonies of 28 prosecution witnesses including the victim and her father. On November 10, the court fixed yesterday for delivering the judgment.
YESTERDAY'S PROCEEDINGS
Porimol was produced before the court at 1:55pm. The judge took seat at 2:00pm and took five minutes to read out the summery of the 27-page verdict in a packed courtroom amid tight security.
The judge said the prosecution had been able to prove the rape charge beyond reasonable doubt by submitting oral, documentary and circumstantial evidence.
“So, convicting the accused of the above charge, due punishment can be meted out for the offence,” said the judge, before pronouncing the sentence.
Porimol looked normal both during and after the pronouncement of judgment.
“I am respectful to the law as well as the verdict which was given by the judge,” Porimol told reporters.
Mahfuz Miah, one of Porimol's counsels, said his client did not get justice. They will challenge the judgement in the High Court.
NEGLIGENCE IN INVESTIGATION
The judge said both the investigators of the case -- police inspectors SM Shahdat Hossain and Mahbubey Khoda, especially Shahdat -- showed extreme inefficiency and negligence while probing the case.
"Such negligence from two inspector-level senior police officials is in no way acceptable,” Judge Saleh Uddin said.
"If they had done the investigation properly, it would have been easier to back the victim. However, it cannot be said that the charge was not proved beyond reasonable doubt due to their poor investigation,” said the judge adding the government can take action against them.
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