25 March 2025 :
A Dhaka tribunal has sentenced three individuals to death in connection with the gang rape and murder of a teenage girl in Keraniganj, Dhaka, three years ago.
Judge Munshi Md Moshiyar Rahman of the Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-4 delivered the verdict on March 25, 2025.
The convicted individuals are Md Sajib, Md Rakib, and Shaon.
Additionally, for the disposal of the body, each of them has been sentenced to seven years in prison, fined Tk10,000, with one year of hard labor in default of the fine.
Prosecutor Ershad Alam (George) confirmed the information, saying: "The tribunal has directed the Dhaka District Magistrate to collect the fine by selling the immovable or movable property of the accused and deposit the amount in the state treasury."
Meanwhile, Ali Akbar, 22 and Md Riaz, 22, were acquitted due to insufficient evidence against them.
Before the verdict, the three accused—Rakib, Riaz, and Shaon—were brought to the tribunal from prison. After the verdict, Rakib and Shaon were sent back to prison with arrest warrants. Since Sajib remains at large, the court has issued an arrest warrant for him.
According to reports, on June 11, 2022, after receiving a call through the emergency service 999, police recovered the body of a teenage girl from a pond in front of the West Bamonshur Jame Mosque in the Atibazar area of Keraniganj. The Keraniganj Model Police filed a case and began an investigation.
The girl's identity was initially confirmed, and based on the testimony of her friend, police arrested a man named Shaon.
Later, Shaon confessed to the crime in court, stating that he, along with Md Rakib, Md Sajib, and Md Ali Akbar, had gang-raped and strangled the girl before disposing of her body in the water near the West Bamonshur Jame Mosque.
After investigating the case, Sub-Inspector Alok Kumar Dey of the Keraniganj Model Police filed a charge sheet on September 30, 2023, accusing five individuals.
The trial commenced after charges were framed against the accused, and during the proceedings, 19 witnesses testified before the tribunal.
