Prime accused Abir sentenced to death

A court in Chattogram has sentenced Abir Ali to death in the brutal murder case of five-year-old child Ayat, who was abducted and later dismembered in 2022.

The verdict was delivered on Wednesday by Sixth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Muhammad Ali Akkas. The court also fined the convict Tk 1 lakh, in default of which he will have to serve one more year of rigorous imprisonment.

Abir Ali, a resident of Rangpur district, was present in court during the pronouncement of the judgment.
According to court officials, arguments in the case were concluded last Saturday, while a total of 33 witnesses testified during the trial.

Additional Public Prosecutor of the Metropolitan Sessions Court, Jalal Uddin, confirmed the verdict, saying the accused was awarded the maximum punishment under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder. He was also sentenced under Section 201 for destroying evidence and concealing the body.

Court documents state that the child, Alina Islam Ayat, went missing on November 14, 2022, while going to a nearby mosque for Arabic lessons in the EPZ area of Chattogram. After failing to locate her, her family filed a general diary with the EPZ Police Station.

During the investigation, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) reviewed CCTV footage and arrested neighbour Abir Ali.

He later confessed to abducting the child for ransom. However, when the child started screaming, he strangled her to death. He then dismembered the body into six pieces and disposed of the remains in the sea and nearby drainage at Akmal Ali Ghat under the outer ring road area.

Subsequently, parts of the body, including two legs and later the severed head, were recovered by PBI from the area.

Police said the charge sheet was submitted on October 10, 2023, implicating Abir Ali and a 17-year-old accomplice, whose case is being tried separately in the juvenile court.