Khadiza happy with verdict

Five months ago, the nation was shocked when a machete-wielding youth hacked Sylhet college student Khadiza Begum Nargis.

Khadiza's wait for justice ended yesterday as her attacker, Badrul Alam, was sentenced to life in prison by a Sylhet court.

The convict was also fined Tk 5,000, in default of which he would have to serve two more months in jail.

Sylhet Metropolitan Sessions Judge Akber Hossain Mridha delivered the verdict in the presence of Badrul in the courtroom, said Misbah Uddin Siraj, public prosecutor of the court.

Around 11:32am, the court started reading out the 30-page verdict, the PP added.

The court, in its observation, said Khadiza was a legendary woman who survived miraculously.

It said the attack was pre-planned and an attempt to kill Khadiza and that the lone accused Badrul was guilty.

The verdict came on a special day as yesterday was the International Women's Day.

After the verdict, Khadiza's uncle Abdul Kuddus, the plaintiff of the case, told journalists that he was happy with the verdict and that they got justice.

Khadiza's lawyer AKM Shibly also praised the court for getting the desired verdict.

However, Badrul's lawyer Sajjadur Rahman said the verdict was delivered on emotional grounds, not on rational grounds.

“We will move the Supreme Court,” he said.

Talking to reporters at her home in Sylhet, Khadiza said she was very happy with the verdict.

Expressing her gratitude to the prime minister, doctors and everyone who helped her, she said, “I want to resume my studies and work for women.”

On October 3 last year, Khadiza, a student of Sylhet Government Women's College, was brutally hacked by Badrul, a student of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) and a leader of Bangladesh Chhatra League of the university unit.

He was expelled from the university and the BCL following the incident.

A Sylhet court recorded all 33 witnesses' deposition, and Khadiza's testimony was recorded on February 26, two days after she returned home.

On March 1, the attempt to murder case, filed on October 4, 2016, by her uncle Abdul Kuddus was forwarded to Sylhet Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court.

On November 15 last year, the district's additional chief metropolitan magistrate accepted the charge sheet that police pressed on November 8 accusing Badrul.

Badrul confessed to the crime in court on October 5.

After being treated at hospitals in Dhaka and Savar, Khadiza returned home on February 24.