A court has sentenced Monir Hossain, 32, to life imprisonment in a case over the rape of a child in Bakalia of Chattogram city. He was also fined Tk 50,000. Judge Syeda Hafsa Jhuma of the Metropolitan Tribunal for the Suppression of Violence against Children delivered the verdict on Wednesday afternoon.
Tribunal public prosecutor Mahmud-ul Alam Chowdhury said: “The charge against the accused, Monir Hossain, was proven, so the court has sentenced him to life imprisonment. He was also fined Tk 50,000. The recording of evidence, the accused’s defense and the arguments in this case were completed in just five working days. The verdict in this widely discussed case was delivered on Wednesday, within 25 days of the incident.”
Judge Syeda Hafsa Jhuma framed charges and ordered the trial of the accused, Monir Hossain, to begin in this case on June 9. Recording of evidence began on June 10. The evidence and cross-examination of a total of 18 witnesses, including the complainant, the victim and doctors, were completed within three working days. The case reached the verdict stage after the prosecution and the defense presented their arguments on Tuesday. Earlier, after nearly two weeks of investigation, the investigating officer, Bakalia police station inspector (investigation) Tanvir Ahmed, submitted the charge sheet to the court on June 4. It charged the accused, Monir Hossain, with rape under Section 9(1) of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000 (amended 2003). Police obtained the child’s DNA report and recorded the statement of the accused and of the victim child under Section 164.
Monir Hossain was accused of raping a three-and-a-half-year-old child in the Bakalia area of the city on the afternoon of May 21. Police detained him after being informed. An agitated crowd and local people tried to snatch the accused away as he was being taken to the police station. The protesters demonstrated at the time, demanding the maximum punishment for Monir Hossain as quickly as possible. On the afternoon of May 22, Monir Hossain gave a confessional statement to the court of Chattogram metropolitan magistrate Abu Bakkar Siddique.
Monir Hossain is a resident of Gharghata village in Cumilla’s Muradnagar upazila. He had been living on rent in the Miakhan Nagar area of Bakalia in Chattogram city and worked at a decorator firm.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report