United News of Bangladesh

Testimony from 16 witnesses has been recorded in the rape and murder case of four-year-old Tabassum in Kaliganj upazila of Jhenaidah, with the trial proceeding swiftly under special government directives. The witness testimonies were completed on Wednesday in the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal in Jhenaidah, a day after formal charges were framed against the sole accused, Abu Taher. Meanwhile, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Asaduzzaman, speaking at an exchange meeting held at the conference room of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Jhenaidah on Wednesday afternoon, directed authorities to expedite the trial proceedings in the widely discussed case. He said the government would maintain a zero-tolerance policy against rape and drug-related crimes. Jhenaidah Court Inspector Moktar Hossain confirmed that the witness testimonies had been completed. He said only two procedural stages remain before the court can fix a date for delivering the verdict. According to court sources, the trial began approximately three and a half months, or 110 days, after the incident as part of a fast-track judicial process initiated under special government instructions. On Tuesday, Judge Salehuzzaman of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal formally framed charges against Abu Taher following a hearing attended by Public Prosecutor Advocate Akilul Islam and state-appointed defence counsel Advocate Tarikul Alam. The investigation officer and Officer-in-Charge of Kaliganj Police Station, Jellal Hossain, submitted the charge sheet to the court on May 26. Court documents show that Abu Taher, the lone accused in the case, made confessional statements under Sections 161 and 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure regarding the incident. According to the case statement, four-year-old Tabassum went missing from Badedihi village in Kaliganj on February 26. Her body was later recovered from a septic tank of a local school. Police arrested Abu Taher from Kushtia on the same night following the filing of the case. The victim’s family has demanded the swift disposal of the case and the highest possible punishment for the offender.