3 sentenced to death for rape and murder of child Nichhamoni

A Mymensingh court has sentenced three people to death in a case filed over the gang rape and murder of a girl in Dhobaura upazila of Mymensingh. At the same time, they were fined two lakh taka each. Another juvenile, Maruf, was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

The verdict was pronounced at the Child Violence Prevention Tribunal of Mymensingh Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court on Thursday (July 9).

The death row convicts are Arif Mia (19), son of Dolal Mia of Tangahati village in Dhobaura upazila, Rakib Mia (19), son of Taher Uddin and Siam (19), son of Taher Uddin. Maruf Mia, son of Ramzan Ali of the same village, was sentenced to 11 years in jail.

The deceased was identified as Nichhamoni, daughter of Taju Mia of Tangahati village.

According to the police and the case statement, the child went missing from the side of the house on June 14 at around 5 pm. The family members searched for him in different places but could not find him. Later, around 7.30 pm, locals spotted the body of a child floating in a bend in the Kangs river, about 600 yards away from the house.

Upon receiving the news, the family members went to the spot and identified the body and recovered it and brought it home. The family members found injuries on the child's body and wounds on sensitive areas while bathing the body in preparation for the burial at night. If they suspected this, the burial was closed and the police were informed.

Later, police reached the spot around 12.30 am and started investigation. Later, the body was sent to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. After the autopsy, the body was handed over to the family and the child was buried at night.

The child's father filed a case with the police station on June 15. Later, police arrested Arif, Rakib, Siam and Maruf. On the night of June 16 and 17, the accused were produced before the court of Mymensingh Chief Judicial Magistrate Court Judge Tanay Saha.

In their statement, they said that the four men took the child to a secluded place and raped her and threw her in the Kangs river in a bloody state. The confessions of the four arrested accused painted a horrific picture of the atrocity. After taking their statements, they were sent to jail on the orders of the judge. Police submitted the charge sheet against the four accused on June 23, just nine days after the investigation.

Mohammad Kamrul Hasan, superintendent of police (SP) of Mymensingh district, said the autopsy and DNA reports were received within the shortest possible time and the charge sheet was submitted to the court after verifying the incident.

The accused have confessed to their involvement in the incident and in the light of that, we collected evidence and submitted the charge sheet to the court.