Killer Harun gets death over Saima murder-rape in city

A special tribunal today awarded the sole accused death penalty in a case lodged over rape and subsequently murder of seven-year-old Samia Afrin Saima in capital's Wari area last year.

Judge Qazi Abdul Hannan of Dhaka 1st Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal pronounced the judgement in presence of the lone accused Harun-ur Rashid.

Expressing satisfaction over the verdict, Saima's parents Abdus Salam and Sanzida Akter pleaded to execute the death sentence soon.

The tribunal on March 5 set today to pronounce judgement in the case as both the prosecution and defence concluded their parts of arguments on that day.

A total of 14 witnesses out of 17 testified before the court on different dates in this sensational case.

Saima's father Abdus Salam filed the case under Women and Children Repression Prevention Act with Wari Police Station on July 6, 2019, and police on July 7 managed to arrest alleged killer Harun-ur Rashid from Cumilla.

Dhaka 1st Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal framed charges against Harun on January 2, 2020.

Saima, a nursery student of Silverdale School, went missing after going out to play in the afternoon on July 5. Her body later was found on the 8th floor of their under construction building at 8pm, with a rope tied to her neck.

It was found later that the minor girl was first brutally raped and killed by Harun and then the killer dragged her lifeless body to the kitchen of a vacant flat on 8th floor by tying a rope to her neck and fled the scene.