4 accused in Magura child rape case placed on remand in late night court hearing

A Magura court has placed four accused on remand in the case of an eight-year-old girl who was allegedly raped while visiting her sister's house. 

Due to security concerns, the police could not produce the accused before the court during the day yesterday (9 March), leading to a late-night hearing.

According to court sources, the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Magura, Abdul Matin, granted a seven-day remand for the prime accused — the victim's sister's father-in-law Hitu Sheikh, 42, — while the other three accused, including her sister's husband Sajib Sheikh, 18, mother-in-law Jaheda Khatun, 45, and brother-in-law Ratul Sheikh, 20, were each placed on a five-day remand.

Protests demanding the death penalty for those involved in the crime continued in Magura throughout yesterday, leading to heightened security concerns. 

Demonstrators blocked the entrance to the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court from 11am to 2:30pm before moving to Vaina Intersection, where they blocked the highway until 5pm. 

In the evening, the protesters staged a torch procession in the city. As a result, police delayed presenting the accused before the court.

The remand hearing began after midnight, with the investigating officer seeking a seven-day remand for each accused. 

No defence lawyer was present during the hearing. When given a chance to speak, the accused claimed innocence and requested that remand not be granted.

The investigating officer informed the court that the victim was unconscious, preventing her from providing a statement. 

"Interrogating the accused is crucial to the investigation," the officer argued. 

After hearing both sides, the court approved the remand.

Although all necessary documents, including the remand application, were prepared earlier in the day, the security situation prevented the accused from being presented before the court. 

Protesters had surrounded the court premises, demanding that the accused be handed over to them, leading to the late-night hearing.

The victim's mother filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act at Magura Sadar police station on Saturday (8 March), naming the four accused. 

They were later shown arrested and sent to jail.

What the case document says

In the case document, the plaintiff [child's mother] stated that on 5 March at around 10pm, the child went to sleep in the same room with her elder sister and her husband after eating dinner. At around 2:30am, the elder sister woke up and saw that her younger sister was lying on the floor.

At that time, the child told her elder sister that she was feeling burning sensation on her genital area. But the elder sister thought that the child was babbling in her sleep.

Then at around 6am, the child again told her sister about the burning sensation. When asked why, she told her sister that when her brother-in-law Sajib Sheikh opened the door at night, her father-in-law Hitu Sheikh grabbed her and took her to his room and raped her.

When she tried to scream, he grabbed her throat. Later, he left her on the floor of her sister's room. 

The complaint further states that after learning about the incident, when the child's elder sister went to inform her mother about the matter on her mobile phone, her husband took away her mobile phone and beat her. He threatened to kill the child if she told anyone about the incident and locked the two sisters in two separate rooms.

In the morning, when a female neighbour named Zohra came to the house, the sister's brother-in-law Ratul Sheikh opened the door. Then, an attempt was made to cure the child by pouring water on the head.

When the child's condition deteriorated around 10:30am, the sister's mother-in-law, with the help of other neighbours, took her to a hospital in Magura. There, the doctors were told that the girl had been strangled.

However, when the doctors and others realised the matter, the mother-in-law fled the hospital. Later, the plaintiff went to the hospital.