A court in Natore has sentenced a man named Abu Bakr Siddique, 22, to life imprisonment for raping a third-grade student. He was also fined 50,000 taka, with the court ordering the fine be paid to the victim’s family.
Sharmin Akter, judge of the Natore Child Violence Suppression Tribunal and district and sessions judge, delivered the verdict Sunday (Sept. 6) afternoon.
The convicted, Abu Bakr Siddique, is the son of Md. Abu Hanif of Bijoynagar village, Singra upazila, Natore.
According to case and court sources, on the morning of Feb. 25, 2025, around 8 a.m., the third-grade student was on her way to a local government primary school when the accused, Abu Bakr Siddique, called her from the road and took her to a nearby room. The case alleges he raped her there.
The child later returned home in tears and told her family what had happened. Relatives then admitted her to Singra Upazila Health Complex.
The child’s father filed a case at Singra police station over the incident. Police subsequently arrested the accused, Abu Bakr Siddique, and sent him to Natore District Jail through the court.
After a lengthy process of recording testimony and presenting evidence, the court delivered the verdict Sunday afternoon. The accused, however, remains free on bail.
Advocate Ruhul Amin Talukder Togor, public prosecutor at Natore Judge Court, said the court delivered the verdict after a lengthy process of recording testimony and reviewing evidence. He said the prosecution has expressed satisfaction with the verdict, and that the fine money will be given to the victim’s family.