Published : 06 Aug 2026, 09:26 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:30 AM
A Sylhet tribunal has sentenced a man to death for the attempted rape and murder of a young child.
The verdict was delivered on Thursday afternoon by Judge Abu Ubaida of the Sylhet Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal, according to Badrul Ahmed Chowdhury, the public prosecutor of the Sylhet Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court.
The convict, 30-year-old Md Zakir Hossain, is a resident of the Dhan Royer Chak area in the western part of Sonatola village under Sylhet Sadar Upazila.
According to the case document, Fahima, the four-year-old daughter of day labourer Raisul Haque from Sonatola village, went missing on May 6 this year. Two days later, on May 8, police recovered her body from a local pond. On the night of May 11, police arrested her neighbour Zakir on charges of attempting to rape and murder the child. He has remained in Sylhet Central Jail since his arrest.
One month and five days after the incident, police submitted the charge sheet to the court. It accused Zakir of attempted rape and murder. It also charged his two brothers, Zainal Ahmed and Abul Kalam, with assisting in the disposal of the body.
Police said Zakir initially tried to throw Fahima's body into the pond but later left it beside the water body. After local residents alerted authorities, police recovered the body and sent it to the morgue of Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital for a postmortem.
Following his arrest, Zakir first confessed to the police and later gave a confessional statement before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
At a press conference on May 12, held after Zakir's arrest, Sylhet Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (North) Mohammad Saiful Islam said:
"On the morning of May 6, Fahima was sent to buy cigarettes from a shop. After she returned with the cigarettes, Zakir called her into his house. His wife was not at home at the time. He allegedly locked the door and attempted to rape the child, as he admitted during interrogation."
However, police also said at the time that whether rape had actually occurred could only be confirmed after receiving the medical examination report.
Public Prosecutor Badrul Ahmed Chowdhury said, "The case was concluded within three months. The court sentenced the principal accused, Zakir Hossain, to death and also fined him Tk 500,000."
He added, "As the allegations against Zakir's two brothers, Zainal Ahmed and Abul Kalam, could not be proven, the court acquitted them of all charges."
