High Court confirms death for eight in 2012 rape, murder of Laxmipur schoolgirl

The High Court has confirmed the death sentence of eight convicts in the 2012 rape and murder of a schoolgirl in Laxmipur.

It has also commuted the death sentence of two others to life imprisonment.

The panel of Justice Bhabani Prasad Singha and Justice Kamrul Hossain Mollah delivered the verdict after hearing appeals of the convicts and their death references on Tuesday.

The eight to die are ‘Hiron’ from Cumilla, Nur Alam from Laxmipur, and ‘Manik’, ‘Rashed’, ‘Sumon’, Hedayetullah, Nur Nabi, and Saddam Hossain alias Rubel from Noakhali.

Manik, Rashed, Sumon and Rubel are absconding.

The two with commuted sentence are Anwar Hossain and ‘Sohel’ from Noakhali. Sohel is a fugitive from the law.

According to case documents, the 20 to 25 masked accused broke into the house of the plaintiff, a man, to commit robbery at Basudouhita village in Laxmipur Sadat Upazila on July 18, 2012. 

The robbers took the residents of the house hostage and looted valuables worth Tk 500,000.

They also raped the granddaughter of the plaintiff and killed her. She was a grade seven student.   

Manjurul Basid, the judge of a special tribunal to prevent repression of women and children, sentenced the 10 to death and acquitted 15 others on Sept 16, 2014.

Deputy Attorney General Md Aminul Islam said they were able to prove involvement of the two convicts, whose death sentence was commuted, with the robbery, but not with the rape and murder of the girl in the High Court.

He said they would consult Attorney General Mahbubey Alam to decide whether to appeal against the modification of the tribunal verdict.