Staff Reporter :
A court has sentenced three individuals to death for the gang rape and murder of a teenage girl in Keraniganj, Dhaka, three years ago.
The verdict was announced on Tuesday morning by Judge Munshi Md. Moshiyar Rahman of Dhaka’s 4th Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal.
The convicts are: Sajib (25), son of Kamir Uddin from Kholamora village, Keraniganj ,Rakib (23), son of Hasmat Ali from Khakanda village, Bhanga Upazila, Faridpur ,Shawon alias Valka Shawon (26), son of Muslim Matbor from Palong police station, Shariatpur
State Prosecutor Ershad Alam George stated that apart from the death penalty, the convicts have also been sentenced to seven years of imprisonment and a fine of Tk 10,000 each for concealing the victim’s body
In default, the convicts will have to suffer one additional year of imprisonment.
The tribunal has ordered the Dhaka District Magistrate to sell the convicts’ movable and immovable assets to recover the fines and deposit the amount with the state treasury.
Ali Akbar (22) and Riaz (22) were acquitted as the charges against them could not be proven
The convicted Rakib and Shawon were present in court and sent to prison following the verdict
Sajib remains absconding, and the court has issued both a sentencing order and an arrest warrant against him
According to case records: On June 11, 2022, police received an emergency 999 call reporting a floating body in a pond near Pashchim Bamansur Jame Mosque in Keraniganj
Upon recovery, the body was identified by a friend of the victim Shawon. On suspicion, he was arrested first, and during his confession, he revealed that he, Rakib, Sajib, and Ali Akbar had gang-raped the girl before strangling her to death and disposing of the body in the pond
Rakib and Sajib were later arrested and provided similar confessions in the court
Following an investigation, SI Alok Kumar De of Keraniganj Model Police Station submitted a charge sheet against five individuals on September 30, 2023.
After framing charges, the tribunal proceeded with the trial, recording testimonies from 19 witnesses before delivering the verdict on Tuesday.
