Army man gets life term for rape in Joypurhat

JOYPURHAT, July 1: Judge Abdur Rahman of the Joypurhat Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal on Tuesday afternoon sentenced an army member to life-term imprisonment and fined Tk 1 lakh, in default, sentenced to another year of rigorous imprisonment for raping a child.

The convicted Seratul Mustaqin alias Roni is the son of Tipu Sultan of Temaria Village in Gopinathpur Union of Akkelpur Upazila of Joypurhat. 

According to the case details, as the victim’s father was an expatriate in Malaysia, she lived with her mother in her maternal grandparents' house in Temaria Village and was studying in class five in a local school in 2022. The convict lured her to his room and forcibly raped her on June 14, 2022, at around 3 pm. The girl fell ill the next day. Later, when her grandparents informed the family of the accused, they tried to reach a compromise by paying Tk 2 lakh. At one stage, the family of the accused assured the victim’s family of marriage.

Later, realising the fraud, the victim’s mother filed a case with the police station on the court's orders on August 5 of that year. After a long hearing and taking the testimonies of eight witnesses, the court gave this verdict.