A tribunal has sentenced a youth named Sojib Bepari to life imprisonment for raping a six years old, in South Keraniganj, five years ago.
On Sunday, Judge Munshi Md Moshiar Rahman of Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-4 pronounced the verdict in the presence of the accused.
Following the delivery of the judgment, a warrant of conviction was issued and the convict was subsequently sent to prison.
In this regard, the tribunal’s Public Prosecutor, Ershad Alam (George), said that in addition to life imprisonment, Sojib Bepari was sentenced to pay a fine of Tk1,00,000.
In default of payment, he will serve an additional one year of imprisonment.
The Dhaka district magistrate has been instructed to recover the fine by selling the convict’s movable or immovable assets and to ensure the compensation is provided to the victim and her family.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the victim’s father was residing in a rented house in South Keraniganj with his two children.
On 5 May 2020, he left home with his rickshaw, while the victim’s mother went to work at another household.
Around 12pm Sojib took the victim and her two-year-old brother from in front of their house to his own residence.
Later, he raped the child.
Upon the child’s crying, Sojib drove both her and her younger brother out of the house.
The victim later disclosed the incident to her mother, who then informed the father.
On 13 May of the same year, the child was admitted to the One-Stop Crisis Centre (OCC) at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
On the same day, her father filed a case with South Keraniganj police station.
Following the filing of the case, police apprehended Sojib, who subsequently gave a confessional statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Upon completion of the investigation, Sub-Inspector Sanjoy Malo of the same police station submitted the charge sheet before the court on 29 August 2020.
