Six awarded death sentence for rape of student

A court in Khulna on Tuesday awarded death sentence to six people for the rape of a sixth grader in 2019.

The condemned convicts are Morshedul Islam Shanto alias Shanto Bishwas (fugitive), Sheikh Shahadat Hossain (fugitive), Md Rabbi Hasan Parash, Md Mahamud Hasan Akash, Quazi Ariful Islam Pritom (fugitive) and Md Mim Hossain. 

Khulna Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-3 judge Abdus Salam Khan pronounced the verdict, prosecution lawyer (special PP) Farid Ahmed confirmed.

The court also jailed four other accused for eight years as they are not adults.

The case statement said Morshedul Islam Shanto and the victim knew each other. On June 29, 2019, Shanto took the victim to a rented house at Bihari colony under Sonadanga Police Station area and violated raped.

At that time, his associates video-recorded the act and they also violated her in turns intimidating her to spread the video.

Later, the victim's elder sister lodged a case against nine people with Sonadanga Police Station in this connection.

On November 13 of the same year, the investigation officer and the police station officer in-charge (OC) Momtazul Haque pressed charges against 10 accused in the lawsuit.

Alamgir Hannan/SU