In the case of the rape and murder of an 8-year-old child in Magura, the court has sentenced the prime accused, Hitu Sheikh, to death.
On Saturday, Judge M Zahid Hasan of the Magura Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal announced the verdict.
Three individuals have been acquitted in the case.
The court sentenced Hitu Sheikh, 50, prime accused in the case and father-in-law of the victim’s sister to death while acquitted Hitu’s wife Jabeda Begum, 40 and two sons- Sajib Sheikh, 20 and Ratul Sheikh, 25.
On the same day, Public Prosecutor (PP) of the Magura Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal, Monirul Islam Mukul, confirmed this information.
A total of 29 witnesses testified in the case and seven pieces of evidence were seized, he added.
According to the case statement, the child had gone to visit her elder sister’s in-laws’ house. On March 6 at around 11:30am, she was taken unconscious to the 250-bed hospital in Magura
Later, on March 13, the child died while undergoing treatment at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka. Prior to that, on March 8, the child’s mother had filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act at Magura Sadar Police Station, accusing attempted rape and murder.
Earlier, on April 13, the investigation officer of the case, Magura Sadar Police Station’s Inspector (Investigation) Md Alauddin, submitted the charge sheet to the court.
On April 17, the case was transferred from the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court to the Tribunal, and on April 20, the charge sheet was accepted. On March 15, the child’s elder sister’s father-in-law gave a confessional statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Sabyasachi Roy.
Testimony in the case began on April 27. Charges were framed under Section 9(2) of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act (rape resulting in death) against the child’s elder sister’s father-in-law; under Section 506(2) of the Penal Code (criminal intimidation) against the elder sister’s husband and brother-in-law; and under Section 201 of the Penal Code (destruction of evidence of a crime) against the elder sister’s mother-in-law.
