ICT sentences 3 to life for 2002 gang rape

A Dhaka tribunal on Tuesday sentenced three men to life imprisonment for the gang rape of a young woman in Nawabganj 24 years ago.

Judge Munshi Md Moshiar Rahman of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-4 issued this order and fined each convict Tk 100,000, with an additional one-year jail term in default of payment.

The convicts are Sujan, Julhas and Mahammad. The tribunal directed the district magistrate or collector to recover the fines by selling the convicts’ movable and immovable assets and hand the money over to the victim or her family.

Sujan and Mahammad were present in court when the judgement was delivered and were sent to jail. Julhas, who remains absconding, was sentenced in absentia and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

According to the prosecution, the crime took place on March 22, 2002, when the victim was taken to a paddy field in the Sonapur area of Nawabganj and raped by the three men.

The victim later filed a case with Nawabganj Police Station. Police submitted the charge sheet on July 18, 2002, and the tribunal subsequently framed charges and began the trial.