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Bangladesh rape accused marries his victim in jail
An alleged rapist has tied the knot with his victim in Feni jail to meet the bail conditions.
Published : 19 Nov 2020, 04:53 PM
Updated : 19 Nov 2020, 04:53 PM
The wedding was held in the presence of District Executive Magistrate Md Moniruzzaman at the jail premises with the dower set at Tk 600,000 on Thursday.
Relatives of lawyers for the bride and the groom were also present.
The accused, Zahirul Islam Zia, is the son of Abu Sufian, a member of the local union council in Sonagazi North Chardarbesh village.
He was in a relationship with a teenage girl in the neighbourhood, according to the case dossier. He allegedly raped her on May 27 with the promise of marriage.
The girl started the rape case against Zia when he refused to marry her. Police arrested him two days later, said Sajedul Islam, the OC of Sonagazi Model Police Station.
The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Mostafizur Rahman told Zia that he would get bail if he married the girl when he applied for bail at the High Court on Nov 1, according to the police and the jail authorities.
Feni Jail Superintendent Anwarul Karim said the High Court ordered the authorities to arrange the marriage if both sides agree within 30 days from receiving the order.
The court will now issue the bail order once the jail authorities submit a report on the marriage.
The families of the bride and the groom fixed the wedding date after discussion following the directives of the High Court, Anwarul said.
“The court has delivered justice through the marriage. This is unprecedented when it comes to the rape cases in Feni,” said Nurul Islam Majumder, a lawyer for the plaintiff.
"I respect the law. I hope my son will be released after the information on the marriage is sent to court. We will organise a big wedding ceremony at home once my son is released,” said Zia’s father Abu Sufian.
The panel of Justice Rahim and Justice Mostafizur in October had passed a similar order allowing the marriage of a rape convict and the victim in Rajshahi.
The convict, who was sentenced to life, had violated the woman promising to marry her when she was 14 years old in 2011.
He recently appealed for bail, leading to the order allowing him to marry the victim.
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