A tribunal has sentenced a private tutor to death for raping a seven-year-old child in Banasree under Khilgaon police station in the capital four years ago.
Judge Mosammat Rokshana Begum Happy of Dhaka’s Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal 3 delivered the verdict on Wednesday afternoon, also slapping a Tk50,000 fine on the convict, Zahidul Islam, 30.
In default of payment, he would have to serve six months of rigorous imprisonment.
Zahidul is the son of Md Fazlul Haque from Porikhal village in Barguna Sadar upazila.
He was brought to court from prison for the verdict announcement. Following the pronouncement, the tribunal issued the sentence warrant and ordered that he be sent back to prison.
Public Prosecutor Md Sajjad Hossain expressed satisfaction with the verdict, saying there should be no leniency for rapists and that harsher punishments should be imposed to deter such crimes.
On the other hand, defence lawyer Imran Hossain expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict and said that they would appeal to the High Court. He also expressed hope that Zahidul would be acquitted upon appeal.
According to the case statement, on March 23, 2021, private tutor Zahidul Islam went to the girl's house for a lesson. Around 8:30pm, while the child’s parents were working in a nearby garage, they suddenly saw Zahidul hurriedly leaving the house.
Shortly afterwards, they heard the child crying and rushed inside, where she informed them that the tutor had raped her.
Following the incident, the girl's father filed a rape case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.
On July 24, 2021, investigating officer Mosammat Rashida Jahan Runa Talukder, an inspector from the DMP's Women Support and Investigation Division, pressed charges against the accused following an investigation.
The following year, on January 20, the court framed charges against Zahidul and ordered the commencement of the trial.
During the proceedings, the court recorded statements from 10 witnesses.
