A court in Faridpur Sadar Upazila has sentenced two youths to life imprisonment for gang-raping a madrasa student. Each of them was also fined Tk 1 lakh and ordered to serve another year of rigorous imprisonment in default of payment. Another accused was acquitted as the charges in the case were not proven.
On Sunday (August 23) afternoon, Judge (District and Sessions Judge) of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal in Faridpur, Md. Abul Bashar Miah, announced the verdict.
The convicted accused were present in the court when the verdict was announced. Later, they were sent to the district jail under heavy police guard.
The convicts are Suman Molya (19) of Char Durgapur village in Ishan Gopalpur union of Faridpur Sadar upazila and Osman Bepari (29) of the same village.
According to the case source, the victim was studying in the ninth grade at a Dakhil Madrasa in Goalanda Upazila of Rajbari district. She developed a love affair with a young man over the phone. On the afternoon of October 17, 2024, she went to Goalanda Ghat to meet the young man. Unable to find him, the girl called her cousin.
When the cousin left to return home with her, the accused took them to a rented house in Bhati Lakshmipur area of Faridpur city and asked them to stay there for the night. The next day, on October 18, at around 7:30 am, the accused took the girl hostage and threatened to spread her pictures on her mobile phone. Then, Suman Molya and Osman Bepari forcibly raped the girl against her will.
After the incident, the victim was sent home with death threats to not tell anyone. Later, when the victim returned home and informed her relatives about the incident, her mother filed a rape case with Faridpur Kotwali Police Station on October 21, 2024.
The police submitted the charge sheet to the court after a long investigation into the case. The court gave this verdict after taking the testimonies of witnesses and after a long hearing in the judicial process, as the charges brought against the accused were proven beyond doubt.
Expressing satisfaction with the verdict, Advocate Golam Rabbani Bhuiyan Ratan, Public Prosecutor (PP) of the Women and Children Abuse Prevention Tribunal in Faridpur, said, "This verdict will play an important role in increasing people's confidence in the rule of law. Such exemplary punishment by the court will greatly reduce heinous crimes like rape and abuse of women in the society and create fear among criminals."
