DE News Desk :
The Magura Women and Children Repression (Prevention) Tribunal on Saturday sentenced prime accused Hitu Sheikh, 50, to death for raping and killing an eight-year-old girl in the district in March this year.
Judge M Zahid Hasan delivered the verdict also fining Hitu, also the father-in-law of the victim’s sister, Tk 1 lakh.
The court also acquitted three other accused namely Sajib Sheikh, the husband of the victim’s sister, Sajib’s brother Ratul Sheikh, and Hitu’s wife Jaheda Begum of the charges brought against them, the tribunal’s public prosecutor Monirul Islam said.
The court delivered the verdict after holding the trial in 12 working days, he said.
The victim’s mother who is the plaintiff of the case expressed dissatisfaction as three accused were acquitted of the charges.
‘We will appeal to the High Court challenging the acquittal of three accused after scrutinising the copy of the verdict,’ said Monirul Islam.
On April 23, the tribunal framed charges against four accused in the cases.
The court examined 29 prosecution witnesses during the trial.
On May 13, the court set May 17 for pronouncing the verdict after hearing the case summing up arguments from both prosecution and defence lawyers.
Lawyer Sohel Ahmed was appointed as a defence lawyer through legal aid following a petition from the accused persons.
On April 13, the police submitted the charge sheet against them.
On March 15, the prime accused Hitu Sheikh gave a confessional statement to a senior judicial magistrate court in Magura.
The minor girl from Sreepur Upazila in Magura came to visit her elder sister’s in-laws’ house in Magura Sadar Upazila in early March. She was raped there.
On March 6, the victim was taken to a hospital in Magura in an unconscious state and was later shifted to Faridpur Medical College Hospital.
From there, she was shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and then to Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka, where she died on March 13.
On March 8, the victim’s mother filed a case with Magura Sadar police, naming four suspects.
The incident triggered widespread anti-rape protests in Dhaka as elsewhere in the country.