Death Penalty for Main Accused in Rape and Murder Case, Accomplice Sentenced to Imprisonment

In Barguna, a court has sentenced the main accused to death for the abduction, rape, and murder of a sixth-grade student after the charges were proven. The accused was also fined Tk 2 lakh, with an additional six months of imprisonment without labor if the fine is unpaid.

The verdict was delivered on Wednesday by Laylatul Ferdous, the judge of Barguna’s Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal and District Judge.

The death-row convict, Hridoy Khan (20), is the son of Shahidul Islam Khan from Pujiakhola Islamapur village in Amtali Upazila, Barguna. His accomplice, Zahidul Islam (19), was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk 50,000, with an additional six months of imprisonment without labor if the fine remains unpaid. Both accused were present in court during the verdict, as confirmed by Special Public Prosecutor (PP) Ronjuwara Sipu. According to details, on February 8, 2024, the victim’s father filed a case at Amtali Police Station against the two accused. His 12-year-old daughter, a madrasa student, went missing on February 5 after leaving home to pick vegetables from a nearby field. When she did not return by noon, her parents searched for her extensively and filed a general diary with the police the next day. The victim’s brother, Imran, informed his father that he received a message from an unknown number demanding Tk 15 lakh as ransom for his sister’s release. The matter was reported to the police. Police arrested the main accused, Hridoy Khan, on February 7. During interrogation, Hridoy confessed to abducting the girl for ransom. When the ransom was not paid, he raped her near the house of one Nur Mohammad Khan in Amtali and killed her by strangling her with her hijab, fearing she might reveal the crime. On February 8, Hridoy gave a confessional statement before Amtali’s Senior Judicial Magistrate Arifur Rahman, leading police to recover the victim’s body from a hogla leaf patch. The victim’s father stated, “The accused abducted my minor daughter, demanded ransom, and when it was not paid, raped and killed her, hiding her body in a hogla patch. I have received justice.” The defense lawyer, Abdul Wasi Matin, argued that the medical report showed no evidence of rape and stated that his client plans to appeal the verdict in a higher court. Special PP Ronjuwara Sipu said, “Abducting, raping, and hiding the body of a 12-year-old girl is a heinous crime. This verdict will serve as a deterrent if its message reaches the public.”