Man sentenced to death for rape, murder of schoolgirl in Cumilla

The child was attacked in Burichang’s Varella village in 2021

A Cumilla court has sentenced a man to death for the rape and murder of a schoolgirl in Cumilla’s Burichang Upazila.

On Thursday afternoon, Judge Abdul Hannan of the Cumilla Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal delivered the verdict in the five-year-old murder case, said the court's state lawyer Badiul Alam Sujan.

The convict, Moynal Hossain, hailed from Varella village in Burichang.

Another suspect in the case is a minor and is being tried in the juvenile court, said state lawyer Sujan.

According to the case details, on May 20, 2021, Moynal raped and killed a girl studying in the first grade.

He then wrapped her body in polythene and hid it in the toilet tank of the “Varella Shah Israel Kawmil Madrasa”. The next day, on May 21, the girl's mother filed a missing person’s report at the police station.

On May 22, the accused called the girl's younger uncle and told him that a body had been found hidden in a sack in the tank of the madrasa.

The uncle went to the scene, saw the body, and screamed. Locals noted the incident and detained the minor suspect. Then, based on the minor's information, police arrested Moynal.

Moynal and two others were named in a charge sheet in a murder case filed at Burichang Police Station.

After the verdict, state lawyer Sujan said: "Moynal raped and killed the girl as she was on her way to top-up the balance on her father’s mobile phone. The judge sentenced him to death as the charges were proven.

"Since the other accused is a minor, his trial is ongoing at the juvenile court. We express our satisfaction with this verdict."

The girl's mother, who filed the case, expressed her satisfaction with the verdict, saying: "I want this to be implemented quickly."