Two Years Since Stalker Killed Risha : Justice elusive, as legal loophole exploited

Paper cut outs of butterflies adorning the walls are the only traces of the room's previous occupant -- 14-year old Suraiya Akhter Risha. Her parents had removed all her photos as the days after her murder turned into months and then years.

Pointing to the butterflies on the wall next to him, Ramzan Hossain, Risha's father, said, “These were made by her. She was so loving and caring [that] relatives and neighbours still talk about what she did, what she said.”  

Suraiya Akhter Risha was stabbed to death by a stalker for refusing his marriage proposal in August, 2016.

Her parents -- Ramzan Hossain and Taniya Hossain -- were told that their case was a strong one and justice would be swift. That is until the defence exploited a loophole in the Children's Act, 2013, delaying a justice long awaited.  

According to the act, jail sentences of a maximum 10 years and minimum three years are handed to a child found guilty of a crime generally punishable by death or life-term imprisonment. However, what punishment an adult should get in a trial under the act, as in Risha's case, is not specified.

The Children's Act says the juvenile court has the sole authority to hold the trial of any case that is tied to “children in conflict with the law” or “children in contact with the law”. It also goes on to define that the accused of a crime or convicts are in conflict with the law, and child victims and witnesses are considered to be in contact with the law.

Using this, the defence successfully delayed the final judgment in the case, dragging it for over two years now.

CASE OF A LOOPHOLE

Obaidul Kader, 28, who was a tailor by profession, first met Risha when she came to the shop he worked at. He then began to stalk her.

Things came to a head on August 24, 2016, when he intercepted Risha on a footbridge near Willes Little Flower School in the capital's Kakrail. Armed with a knife, he stabbed her a number of times, leaving her with wounds on her chest, abdomen and hands, which she raised to defend herself.

“A chunk of flesh from her hands was cut right off,” her mother recalled.

The attack left Risha needing 34 bags of blood. Unfortunately, the teenager lost her battle for life four days later, while undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Her death led to students pouring into the streets in protest. The police were also quick to act and they arrested Obaidul within a week after the incident.

Obaidul then confessed to his crimes before a magistrate, admitting to committing Risha's murder.

The following police investigation found evidence of the crime by Obaidul, and accordingly a charge sheet was submitted against him in November 2016.

Afterwards, the trial began at the Additional Metropolitan Session Judge's Court.

By June last year, 20 out of 26 witnesses gave their testimonies. Of them, two were children, aged below 18. The defence cross-examined them on June 21 that year.

“The court proceedings were going smoothly and I was expecting the trial to be completed soon,” said Advocate Fahmida Akhter Rinky, who is representing Risha's parents in the case, in an interview over phone on Monday.

However, that is when things took a turn. As the court had already recorded the statement of the first investigation officer, the defence appealed to it to transfer the case to the juvenile court since the victim and two witnesses were children.

Having been rejected, the defence then submitted the same prayer to the Metropolitan Session Judge's Court.

The attempt was successful this time as the Children's Act specified that the juvenile court had the sole authority to hold the trial of cases tied to “children in conflict with the law” or “children in contact with the law”.

In September last year, the defence counsel wrote to the chief justice, requesting him to clear the confusion over what punishment would be delivered to the accused in Risha's murder case, if he was found guilty by the juvenile court.

It then prayed to the court to stall the case proceedings until the matter was resolved.

Since then, there has been no progress in the trial.

“Here, the defence took advantage of the legal loophole in favour of the accused and got the case transferred,” Fahmida said.

AMENDMENT IN THE OFFING

The cabinet recently approved a proposal for an amendment to the Children's Act, said Fahmida, adding that once passed, the punishment for an adult accused under the juvenile tribunal would be determined by respective laws guiding the trial of his crime.  

The law that is meant to protect the interest of children is being misused, said advocate Ataullah Nurul Kabir, from Amrai Pari (We Can), an alliance to end violence against women.

Kabir is one of the proponents for an amendment to the act.

Meanwhile, Risha's parents and rights activists fear that Obaidul may obtain bail from the High Court on the pretext of the trial remaining suspended for long and may try to flee the country.

Taking out Risha's photos from a suitcase in their Siddik Bazar house, her mother Taniya held back her tears as both parents reminisced about that fateful day.

“That was the third day she went to school alone by a school van. One of us used to take her but we were both sick,” said her father Ramzan, who runs an electronic goods shop in the area.

Her mother then recalled that the day before the attack, Risha had told her mother that Obaidul met her at the school gate and she hurried away to avoid him.

“She [Taniya] didn't tell me this. I would otherwise not let her go alone on the day [of the attack],” Ramjan said with tears streaming down his cheeks.

Now, they are left counting the days till the trial resumes and their daughter gets due justice.