5 sentenced to death for murder of 8-year-old boy in Bogura in 2018

A tribunal in Bogura has sentenced five men to death for the murder of an eight-year-old boy whose body was hidden after he was killed in 2018.

Judge Md Anwarul Haque of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-1 in Bogura delivered the verdict today (21 June), sentencing another five people – minors at the time of the crime – to 10 years in prison.

The men sentenced to death are Abul Kalam Azad, Sagar, Selim Islam, Mehedi Hasan and Raju Islam Panchful, all from the Khadas area of Shajahanpur upazila. 

Two of them, Sagar and Selim, remain fugitives. 

The victim, Rifat Hossain, was the son of Enamul Haque, a resident of Khadas Hatkhola in Shahjahanpur. 

The convicted individuals were neighbours and acquaintances of the victim's family. 

Sajib Hasan, Mofizul Islam, Zahid Hasan, Borhan Ali and Bayezid Hossain were given 10-year sentences after being found guilty as juveniles at the time of the offence. They are also residents of Khadas. 

According to court documents, Rifat was killed on 15 July 2018 and his body was concealed. 

Three days later, his father filed a case at Shajahanpur Police Station after the body was recovered from beneath a bridge in a neighbouring village. 

According to tribunal sources, Enamul Haque had been working abroad and one of the now-convicted men, Abul Kalam Azad, had repeatedly sought money from him. 

On the day of the incident, Azad allegedly demanded a loan of Tk1 lakh, which Enamul refused to provide. 

Later that day, Rifat went missing. After searching unsuccessfully, his family reported his disappearance to police. 

Three days later, Enamul learned that the body of a child had been found beneath a bridge in nearby Poyalgacha village. He went to the scene and identified the body as that of his son. 

One of the original 11 accused, Masud Rana, was removed from the case after his death.