Man gets death for killing CoU student, mother

A Cumilla court on Wednesday sentenced Md Mobarak Hossain, the sole accused in the rape and murder of Cumilla University student Sumaiya Afrin, 23, and the murder of her mother, Tahmina Begum, 52, to death in two separate cases. The court also fined him Tk 3 lakh.

Judge Md Yasir Arafat of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-1, Cumilla, delivered the verdict.

The tribunal sentenced Mobarak to death and fined him Tk 2 lakh under Section 9(2) of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000 (amended in 2003), for raping and killing Sumaiya.

He was also sentenced to death and fined Tk 1 lakh under Section 302 of the Penal Code, 1860, for murdering her mother. The verdict was delivered in the presence of the plaintiff’s lawyer, Advocate Sohel Hossain, family members of the victims and students of Cumilla University.

Court sources said the tribunal recorded statements from 13 witnesses during the trial. Closing arguments concluded on October 27 after around two and a half months of judicial proceedings.

The court had initially scheduled November 5 to deliver the verdict but deferred it to November 11 as the judgment was not ready.

According to case documents, Sumaiya, a student of the Public Administration Department at Cumilla University, and her mother were murdered at their rented home in the Kalijhuri area of Cumilla city on September 7, 2025. Police recovered their bodies from the house the following day.

Following the incident, Sumaiya’s brother, Tajul Islam, filed a murder case with Cumilla Kotwali Model Police Station.

Police arrested Mobarak shortly after the killings. On September 9, he gave a confessional statement before a Cumilla court under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, admitting his involvement in the murders.

Investigators found that Mobarak had become acquainted with the family through his involvement in traditional healing practices. He had reportedly been visiting their home for nearly a month before the killings.

In his confessional statement, Mobarak admitted to raping Sumaiya and killing her mother after she witnessed the incident.

Since the murders, Cumilla University students had been demanding exemplary punishment and a speedy trial. They organised several human chains, protest marches and candlelight vigils seeking justice.

Expressing satisfaction over the verdict, Sumaiya’s classmate Munia Afroze said, “We are grateful that the court has awarded him the death penalty. We want the verdict to be executed as soon as possible. If possible, it should be carried out publicly so that others are deterred from committing such crimes.”

Sumaiya’s brother Tajul Islam said, “Because of the heinous crime committed by Mobarak, I have lost my mother and my only sister.

The investigation took a little longer than expected, but after its completion, the court delivered the verdict promptly. I want the verdict to be implemented without delay.”
Advocate Ayesha, the state-appointed defence lawyer, said there were no eyewitnesses to the incident and questioned the strength of the video footage presented as evidence.

“Although there were some points of contention, we could not challenge them on legal grounds. Some evidence was also found through DNA testing,” she said.

Advocate Abdul Motaleb Majumder, additional public prosecutor of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-1, said the court delivered the verdict after hearing the closing arguments.

“The court sentenced the accused to death for raping and murdering Sumaiya and for murdering her mother. We demand that the verdict be implemented as soon as possible,” he said.