8 to die for murder, rape of 9-yr-old

A court in Chattogram yesterday sentenced eight people to death and fined them Tk 1 lakh each for murdering a nine-year-old girl after gang-raping her in the port city's Akbar Shah area in 2018.

In another incident, three people were handed death penalty, three jailed till death while three others were given life-term imprisonment in a case for killing two boys after abduction in Tangail's Mirzapur in 2016.

In Chattogram, Md Jamiul Haider, judge of Chattogram Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-4, delivered the verdict in the presence of seven accused in the courtroom, said Public Prosecutor MA Naser of the tribunal.

The seven convicts are Md Belal Hossen alias Bijoy, 21, Md Robiul Islam alias Rubel, 20, Md Hasibul Islam alias Liton, 29, Md Aksan Mia alias Hasan, 21, Md Sujon, 22, Moinul Islam Monu, and Robiul Islam Rubel.

Another convict, Shahdat Hossain, has been absconding since the incident, said the PP.

After the verdict was pronounced, the convicts were sent to jail, he added.

According to the case statement, second-grader madrasa student Fatema Akhter Mim was killed after gang rape on January 21, 2018, in "Ayesha Mamtaj Mahal" of an area, which falls under the jurisdiction of Akbar Shah Police Station.

A day later, the victim's mother Bibi Rabeya Begum filed a case with the police station. After investigation, police pressed charges against the eight on September 9, 2018. The court framed charges against them on May 26, 2019..

Nineteen witnesses testified in the case, said PP Naser.

The verdict over the Tangail incident was delivered by Saud Hasan, judge of the second additional district and sessions judge's court, said Court Inspector Tanvir Ahmed.

The court also fined the convicts Tk 1 lakh each, he said.

Among nine convicts in the case, eight were present in the courtroom when the judgment was delivered, while the other was tried in absentia.

The three people who were handed death penalty are Milton, 22, and Bahadur Miah, 22, of Char Chouhat village in Dhaka's Dhamrai upazila, and Roni Miah, 25, of Sujaniloja village in Tangail's Mirzapur upazila.

The three who were jailed till death are Shahinur alias Saha, 30, of Char Chouhat village, and Jahirul Islam, 20, of Shoshodhorpotti village in Dhamrai upazila, and Abdul Malek, 35, of Amrail Telipara village in Mirzapur upazila.

The other three convicts given life-term imprisonment are Arif, 28, and Shamim Miah, 25, of Char Chouhat village, and Jakir Hossain, 28, of Amrail Telipara village, said the court inspector.

Convict Arif is on the run, said the court inspector, adding that two other accused in the case were acquitted.

Quoting the case statement, the court's additional PP Khorshed Alam said Shakil, 11, son of Delwar Hossain, and Imran, 11, son of Abu Bakkar, of Char Chouhat village in Dhamrai upazila, went missing when they were on their way to watch the annual sports competition of Haria High School in Mirzapur upazila on January 27, 2016.

The next day, some people called their families over phone and demanded Tk 2 lakh in ransom for the release of each of the two boys.

On January 26 the same year, the two victims were found dead with their throats slit at a lemon orchard in Haria village.

The next day, Shakil's mother Joshna Begum filed the murder case with Mirzapur Police Station. After investigation, police pressed charges against 11 accused on June 8.

[Our correspondents in Chattogram and Tangail contributed to this report]