Wari Schoolgirl Murder: Lone accused indicted
A Dhaka court yesterday framed charges against the lone accused in a case filed over the rape and murder of Wari schoolgirl Samia Afrin Saima in July last year.
Harun Or Rashid, however, pleaded not guilty after Judge Kazi Abdul Hannan of Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-1 in Dhaka read out the charges.
The court also set January 8 for starting the trial, through recording the complainant’s testimony.
On July 5 last year, Harun took Saima to an empty flat on the rooftop of an eight-storey building in Wari. He raped the seven-year-old, and then strangled her to death.
Saima and her parents lived on their flat on the fifth floor of the building, while Harun (25) stayed with his cousin Parvez’s family on the seventh floor. The nursery student often went to Parvez’s flat to play with his son and knew Harun.
Saima’s father Abdus Salam filed the case on July 6.
The murder triggered a firestorm of protests across the country. Many took to social media to demand justice for the little girl.
Detectives arrested Harun from his village home in Cumilla’s Dabordanga area on July 7. Harun confessed to a Dhaka magistrate that he killed the girl after rape so that she cannot disclose his identity.
Inspector Md Arjun of Detective Branch of police submitted the charge sheet against Harun to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Dhaka on November 4 last year.
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