Chamber judge of the Appellate Division on Sunday stayed the High Court’s order of suspending 7 police members for four weeks over a rape case filed against four children in Bakerjganj police station in Barishal.

Chamber judge Obaydul Hasan’s bench passed the order and scheduled the next hearing on the matter with a full bench of Appellate Division on August 1.

Read: 4th grader killed ‘after rape’ in Rajshahi

Advocate Momtaj Uddin Fakir represented the state. The other side was presented by Barrister Md. Abdul Halim with assistance of Advocate Jamiul Haque and Barrister Sharmin Akter Shiuli.

On June 13, The High Court  during a hearing on the matter canceled the rape case against those four children and issued a seven point direction, which included an order to temporarily suspend seven police members and social service officers involved, as well as departmental measures against them.

The court also ordered to withdraw Barishal’s senior judicial magistrate Md Enayet Ullah’s criminal judicial power, and instead to bestow him with the responsibility of civil court for sending the children to Jessore Child Development Center.

Read:Woman kidnapped from Dhaka kitchen market, raped by 3

The direction of the HC declared the arrest of the children and keeping them in police custody illegal and ordered a guideline be circulated for the police following the Children Act 2013.  

Later a petition for staying the order was submitted with the chamber judge’s court of the Appellate Division.

On October 6 , 2020 police arrested four children after a case was filed against them for raping a 6-year old the same day.

On October 7, magistrate Enayet Ulaah’s court ordered police to send the children to Jessore child development center.

Read:31-yr-old raped by three in Sylhet

On October 8, High Court bench of justice Md Mojibur Rahman Mia and Mohi Uddin Shamim ordered the Barishal court to grant bail to the four children and send them to their respective homes during a virtual hearing, following which the Barishal court granted bail to the four accused children.

On October 11, the same HC bench passed stay order on the rape case and issued a rule on this matter.