A tribunal in Chuadanga on Monday sentenced the lone accused to death for the rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl in Jibannagar upazila in 2023.

Judge Md Moktagir Alam of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal handed down the verdict.

The tribunal also fined the convict – Abul Hossain alias Fatik, 29, son of Abu Taher Molla of Bara Masjidpara in Goyeshpur village under Jibannagar upazila – Tk 2 lakh. He was present in the dock when the judgement was delivered.

According to the prosecution, around 11:00am on December 21, 2023, Mariam Khatun, the 10-year-old daughter of van driver Iqbal Hossain of Goalpara village in the upazila, went to collect vegetables in Harivanga field along with several other children.

At one stage, Abul Hossain allegedly lured Mariam into a nearby maize field on the pretext of helping her collect vegetables and asked the other children to wait.

When Mariam did not return for a long time, the children informed her mother. Her family later found her body in the maize field with her throat slit.

Following the incident, Mariam's father filed a murder case with Jibannagar Police Station against unidentified persons.

After the investigation, Sub-Inspector Saiful Islam – the investigation officer – submitted a charge sheet on October 31, 2024, naming Abul Hossain as the sole accused.

During the trial, the accused gave a confessional statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before Chuadanga Senior Judicial Magistrate Md Touhidul Islam. DNA test results also confirmed his involvement in the crime.