5 get double life for rape, murder of minor girl

Two others were awarded seven years' imprisonment in the same case.

The five convicts are Abbas Uddin, 27; Helal Uddin, 32; Mohammad Soliaman, 34; Mofizal Miah, 30, and Mohammad Shaheen, 38, of Suryanagar village in Nalitabari upazila in Sherpur.

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Ashish Ranjan Das, Judge of Women and Children Special Tribunal, in his verdict delivered on Thursday gave them life term under Section 7/30 for abduction and fined them Tk one lakh each, in default, to suffer one year more RI.

In the same verdict, the judge gave them another life term under Section 9(3)30 for gangrape and murder and fined them Tk 2 lakh each, in default, to suffer two years' more RI. The punishments will be effective concurrently, the verdict said.

The judge gave seven years' RI to Haji Abdul Samad, 56, of Chaitankhila village in Sherpur Sadar upazila and Khairul Islam, 42, of Kolospar village in Nalitabari upazila for hiding evidences in the incident. They were also fined Tk 10,000 each, in default, to suffer one year more rigorous imprisonment.

The five youths abducted 10 year-old Shahana, daughter of poor farmer Samed Ali of Khatiapara village in Jhinaigati upazila on September 20, 2003 when she was returning home at Khatiapara village from her brother-in-law's house in Suryanagar village. She was a student of class four at Kolospar Government Primary School.

They took her to a fish firm in the area and killed her after a gangrape. Three days later, police recovered Shahana's body with marks of injury from a paddy field in the area.

SI Azharul Islam filed a case with Nalitabari Police Station. He submitted the charge sheet on December 18, 2003, accusing seven persons.

The court examined 15 witnesses in the case.