A 51-year-old man has been sentenced to death for raping his 13-year-old daughter, a third-grade student, in Sherpur upazila of Bogra.
The court also fined him Tk2 lakh and sentenced him to two years of rigorous imprisonment in default of payment. It ordered that if the fine is not paid, the convict's property be sold and the proceeds handed over to the victim.
Judge Maruf Hossain of the Child Violence Crime Suppression Tribunal announced the verdict in a crowded courtroom on Thursday morning, said the tribunal's Public Prosecutor Advocate Ali Asgar.
According to case documents and court sources, the convict is a resident of a slum area in Sherpur upazila. His first wife had divorced him, after which their 13-year-old daughter lived with him at his second wife's house.
On October 21, 2020, at around 4:30am, he raped his daughter while her stepmother was away. He allegedly threatened to kill the girl if she disclosed the incident.
The girl's behaviour subsequently changed, and she stopped doing household chores. Her stepmother reprimanded her over this. At one point, the girl told her mother about the incident, but she initially refused to believe the allegation against her husband.
The girl later told two of her classmates about the rape. After learning about the incident from them, locals informed Sherpur police.
The girl's mother subsequently filed a case against her husband at Sherpur police station on October 31, 2020.
Public Prosecutor Ali Asgar said police arrested the accused after the case was filed. He later gave a confessional statement before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
"After examining the evidence presented by the state, the court sentenced the sole accused to death and fined him Tk2 lakh. He was also sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for failing to pay the fine," Ali Asgar said.
The court ordered that if the fine remains unpaid, the convict's property be sold and the proceeds handed over to the victim.
The convict was present in court when the verdict was delivered.
The plaintiff and the state expressed satisfaction with the verdict. Advocate Emdad Hossain represented the accused.