Sohel Kanti Nath, Bandarban

A court has sentenced 4 youths to life imprisonment for gang rape of a child in Bandarban. It also fined each accused Tk 1 lakh and ordered another 6 months of rigorous imprisonment in default.

The court, Judge Jebunnahar Ayesha of the Bandarban Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal, gave this verdict on Sunday afternoon.

The convicted accused are Md. Kaysar (22), Md. Rashed (23), Omar Faruk (18), Md. Hanif (24). All of them are residents of Ward No. 7, Jungle Padua area of Padua Union in Lohagara Upazila of Chittagong. However, except Md. Kaysar, the other three accused are absconding.

According to law enforcement and court sources, the raped girl met convicted accused Md. Rashed through a wrong number. After the acquaintance, a love relationship developed between the two. On the night of February 2, 2021, Md. Rashed tempted the girl to marry him over the phone and asked her to go to the Padua area. Believing Rashed's words, the girl reached the Amirabad area of Chittagong the next day, Rashed told the girl on the phone that he would be a little late and that she should come to Padua with his friend Omar Faruk. Later, when she reached Padua, the accused took her to the Bhagyakul area of Bandarban on a mountain jungle path, saying that they would go to the Kazi's house from there, and raped her in turn against her will. Later, hearing the girl's cries, locals rescued the girl from the scene.

In this incident, the girl filed a rape case against the accused at the Bandarban Sadar Police Station as a complainant. Following this, the court sentenced the accused to life imprisonment as the charges were proven.

Confirming the matrer, the court's Public Prosecutor (PP) Mohammad Ismail said that since the charges against the accused were proven, the court has ordered life imprisonment for the four accused. Md. Kaysar, who is in police custody, was ordered to be sent to prison. The court ordered the arrest of the other three absconding accused and sent to prison.