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Police found the mutilated body of 55-year-old Firoza Begum in an abandoned pond three days after she went missing from her home
Published : 16 Jan 2024, 03:51 PM
A Shariatpur court has sentenced five men to death for the gang-rape and murder of a woman in 2019.
The district's Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Md Sohel Ahmed also fined the convicts Tk 100,000 each in the verdict delivered on Tuesday, according to court clerk Md Shahin.
The convicts are Nizam Bali, 45, Mohammad Ali, 35, Amar Faruk Bepari, 24, Al Amin Bepari, 20, and Ibrahim Molla, 21. All of them are residents of Sutolkathi village in Damudya Upazila.
Two of the suspects were in court when the verdict was announced. The others are absconding. The two who appeared in court were then sent to jail.
On Apr 18, 2019, 55-year-old Firoza Begum from Bhuiyan Bazar village went missing from her home around 5 pm. On Apr 21, police found her mutilated body in an abandoned pond 10 km away on the property of Abdur Rahman Master in the Boro Naogaon area.
The following day, Firoza’s younger brother Lal Mia Sardar filed a murder case against 13 named suspects and 2-3 unnamed suspects at a Shariatpur court.
A police investigation found that five of those named in the case were involved in the murder.
On Apr 28, police arrested Nizam Bali in connection with the killing. The following day, police arrested Omar Faruk and Mohammad Ali. They confessed to the rape and murder of the victim in court.
Two other suspects – Ibrahim and Al Amin – absconded. When Omar Faruk was released on bail, he fled too.
Police later filed a chargesheet against the five suspects.
The Shariatpur Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal heard the testimony of 22 witnesses before delivering Tuesday’s verdict.
Shah Jalal Howlader, the son of the victim, said he was pleased with the verdict and urged the government to swiftly carry out the sentence.
Prosecutor Sanal Mia also expressed satisfaction over the outcome, calling it a 'historic verdict'.
