Dhaka man to die for rape and murder of college student cousin

The judge also fined the convict TK 200,000 for the murder of Shaheed Zia Degree College student Akhi Akhtar

A Dhaka tribunal has sentenced Tariqul Islam Raihan to death for the rape and murder of Shaheed Zia Degree College student Akhi Akhtar in Dhaka’s Pallabi.

Judge Begum Shamsunnahar of the Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-5 delivered the verdict on Thursday.

The death-row convict was also fined Tk 200,000, according to Ali Asgar Swapan, a state lawyer at the tribunal.

Raihan was brought to court to hear the verdict. After the ruling, the court issued a warrant, and Raihan was sent to jail.

The parents of Akhi Akhtar live in Mauritius, according to the case documents. As such, Akhi, a first-year college student, stayed with her uncle Rokon Khan.

Raihan, the son of the victim’s older uncle, lived with his wife and child in another room. On the morning of Feb 24, 2018, Akhi left the house to go to college but never returned.

Her body was found the next day after a frantic search in a black bag next to the Airport Railway Station.

Raihan’s father, Nurul Islam, filed a case over the murder.

On Mar 2, 2018, police arrested Raihan. On Aug 30 that year, Dhaka Railway Police Station Sub Inspector Anisur Rahman filed charges against him.

During the interrogation, Raihan said that Rokon Khan had taken his wife to his father’s house in Vasantek on Feb 23 that year. The two got into an argument, and Nurul Islam returned home. There were no women at the home of Rokon Khan between 8 pm on Feb 23 and 11 am on Feb 24. Akhi went to Raihan’s room around 9 pm on Feb 24.

Raihan propositioned her for a physical relationship. She rejected him and threatened to tell everyone what he had done. Raihan then forced himself on her. Akhi kept repeating that she would tell everyone about the assault. He then strangled her to death.