A Chittagong court yesterday sentenced six persons to life-term rigorous imprisonment on charge of attempting to rape two women after abduction at Lohagara upazila in 2005.

Chittagong Women and Child Repression Prevention Tribunal-2 Judge Motahir Ali gave the verdict, said Public Prosecutor MA Naser.

The six are Arman alias Farman, 31, Farid alias LG Farid, 34, Md Shahed, 31, Anwar Hossain, 32, Shahab Uddin, 31, and Rubel, 31. They were tried in absentia.

He said the tribunal sentenced them to 10-year imprisonment and fined them Tk 20,000 each, in default of which they will have to suffer three months more in jail under section 7 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act 2000, and section 9 (4) (Kha) of the same act. According to the case statement, the six had tried to rape the women near Paduya Forest Office under Lohagara upazila on November 29, 2005 after abducting them.

Later, the women were rescued by police and a case was lodged accusing the six with Lohagara Police Station the following day. Police pressed charges against them on January 28, 2006. A Chittagong court indicted the six on July 25, 2007.

Eighteen persons were made witnesses in the case.