5 to die for double murder, gang rape
A Khulna court yesterday awarded death penalty to five men, for gang-raping and murdering a woman, and killing her father at her house in 2015.
Md Mohiduzzaman of Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-3 delivered the verdict, against Saiful Islam Pitil, 30; his brother Shariful, 27; Md Liton, 28; Abu Sayed, 25; and Azizur Rahman Palash, 26. Of them, Shariful is on the run.
The court handed the five accused death sentence and Tk 10 thousand for killing Elias Chowdhury, and another seven years’ jail for concealing the body.
All of them were also handed death sentence and Tk one lakh fine, for killing Parveen Sultana -- daughter of Elias -- after gang rape.
Rezaul Alom Chowdhury Biplob, brother of Parveen, expressed their content over the verdict. “Us family members have been waiting for the verdict for a long time,” he told The Daily Star.
Prosecution lawyer advocate Mominul Islam told The Daily Star that two cases were filed after the killing -- one for murder after gang rape of Parveen, and another for murder of Elias.
According to the case statement, the five accused, neighbours of 25-year-old banker Parveen, used to sexually harass her on her way to work. On September 18, 2015, they entered her house and first strangulated her father Elias Chowdhury, 70, to death, and then gang-raped Parveen and murdered her. They also dumped the bodies in two septic tanks.
Parveen’s brother Rezaul filed the two cases on September 19 with Labonchora Police Station. Four of the accused were arrested shortly after.
Investigating officer of the case Kazi Babul submitted charge sheet of the case filed over Parveen’s rape and murder on March 14, 2016 and for the murder of Elias on May 9 the same year, to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s court of Khulna.
Some 28 witnesses testified in the first case, while 22 testified in the second case. Two of the convicts -- Liton and Sayed -- also gave confessional statements under Section 164.
On April 24 this year, trial of the cases started at Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-3.
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