5 to be hanged for raping a girl in Tangail

A Tangail court has sentenced five accused to death for abducting and gang-raping a madrasa student in 2012.

Judge Khaleda Yasmin of Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal passed the order today. The court also fined them with Tk1 lakh each.

The death row convicts are- Sagar Chandra Sheel, son of Sunil Chandra Sheel of Golabari village in Madhupur upazila of Tangail, Gopi Chandra Sheel, son of Digen Chandra Sheel, Sanjit Chandra Monirishi, son of Badal Chandra Monirishi of Charaljani village, Sujan Monirishi, son of Sunil Monirishi, and Rajan Monirishi, son of Sujon Monirishi.

Of the five accused, Sanjit and Gopi Chandra Shil were present in the court and others are on the run after taking bail.

Court Inspector Tanvir Ahmed said, the accused people gang-raped the madrasa girl after abduction in January of 2012.

The judgement came just two days after President Mohammad Abdul Hamid promulgated an ordinance increasing the maximum punishment for rape to death from life imprisonment.

AKM Nasimul Akhter, special public prosecutor of the tribunal, said, "In 2012, a madrasa student from Bhuapur had relation with Sagar Sheel through mobile phone. Sagar came to Bhuapur on January 15 of that year and took the girl to Rajan's village Charaljani in Madhupur. There he pressured her to marry him and later raped her when she did not agree to it. On the night of January 17, five men took turns raping her on the banks of the Bangshai River in Madhupur and left her there. 

The next morning (January 18), the locals rescued the girl. On the same day (January 18), the student herself filed a case under the Women and Child Repression Prevention Act with the Bhuapur Police Station accusing five. Police arrested one of the accused Sujan first and he confessed to being involved in the incident. Later other accused were also arrested."

After the investigation, the police of Bhuapur police station filed a chargesheet against the five people and on October 29, 2015, charges were framed against them.

"The plaintiff in the case was given legal assistance by the Bangladesh Human Rights Implementation Agency," said Ataur Rahman Azad, a lawyer and general secretary of the organisation's district branch. 

He said, "They were satisfied with the verdict. They have received a fair trial. On the other hand, the lawyer of the accused Golam Mostafa Mia said that they could not be satisfied with the verdict. They will appeal against the verdict in the high court."