Sylhet MC College gang rape: 1 sentenced to death, 3 to life imprisonment 

A Sylhet court today (14 July) sentenced a man to death and handed life imprisonment to three others in the case over the gang rape of a young woman at the Murari Chand (MC) College hostel in 2020.

Judge Swapan Kumar Sarker of the Sylhet Speedy Trial Tribunal pronounced the verdict this afternoon.

The court sentenced Saifur Rahman, the key accused, to death, while Shah Mahbubur Rahman Rony, Tarekul Islam Rony and Arjun Laskar were each sentenced to life imprisonment.

The four remaining accused, Ainuddin alias Ainul, Misbaul Islam alias Rajan, Rabiul Islam and Mahfuzur Rahman, were acquitted, Public Prosecutor Abul Hossain confirmed.

Defence counsel Shah Mushahid Ali expressed dissatisfaction with the judgment, claiming no witness had testified against the accused and that the victim had not identified them. 

He said the defence will challenge the verdict in the High Court.

Earlier, all eight were produced in court under tight security, where they denied the charges, alleging political victimisation and insisting the victim had not accused them. 

The verdict drew significant media attention, with journalists gathering at the court from the morning.

The incident

According to the case statement, on the evening of 25 September 2020, the 20-year-old victim and her husband were returning by car after visiting Shah Paran Mazar when they stopped near MC College's main gate in Tilagarh.

While her husband entered a nearby shop, five or six men allegedly took the couple hostage and forced them, along with their vehicle, to the college hostel in Baluchar.

The attackers tied up and assaulted the husband before gang-raping the woman inside the hostel. 

They later released the couple after taking their cash and vehicle.

The victim's husband then informed the police, alleging officers initially delayed entering the hostel because the accused were affiliated with Chhatra League, allowing them to flee. 

Police later conducted an overnight raid and recovered weapons from several hostel rooms.

The victim's husband filed the case at Shah Paran Police Station, naming six accused and two unidentified suspects.

Although they fled after the incident, police and the Rapid Action Battalion arrested all eight within three days. 

They were remanded for five days each before giving confessional statements to a magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 

DNA tests reportedly matched six of the eight accused.

Investigation and trial

Police submitted a charge sheet in the weapons and extortion case on 22 November 2020.

Then Shah Paran Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Indranil Bhattacharjee submitted the charge sheet on 3 December 2020, charging six with gang rape and two with assisting the crime.

All eight were Chhatra League activists. MC College expelled them, while the National University cancelled the studentship and certificates of four. 

Police also filed a separate weapons case against Saifur Rahman and Shah Mahbubur Rahman Rony.

The trial began after charges were framed on 17 January 2021 and was later transferred to the Speedy Trial Tribunal following High Court directives. 

After last year's political changeover, the prosecution examined 24 witnesses, including the survivor, her husband, the magistrate, the investigating officer, an MC College professor and a forensic physician.