United News of Bangladesh

A tribunal in Sylhet on Tuesday sentenced a man to death and three others to life term imprisonment over the gang rape of a young girl in a dormitory of Sylhet MC College in 2020. The condemned convict is Saifur Rahman while the lifers are—Shah Mahbubur Rahman Rony, Tarekul Islam and Arjun Lashkar. All of the convicts were activists of banned Chhatra League. Sylhet Speedy Trial Tribunal Judge Swapan Kumar Sarkar handed down the judgment. The tribunal also acquitted four others--Ainuddin alias Ainul, Misbaul Islam alias Rajon, Rabiul and Mahfuzur Rahman. Earlier, the eight accused were brought before the court in the morning amid tight security. According to the prosecution, a 20-year-old girl along with her husband went to Shahparan shrine by a private car for roaming on March 25, 2020. On way to return home, they stopped the car in front of a shop adjacent to MC College in Tilagarh area for purchasing something. At one stage, some 5/6 young men keep the couple hostages and took them to Baluchar area where they violated the girl in turns after tying her husband up. Later, they beat up the couple and freed them after taking all belongings including cash and the private car. A case was filed with Shahparan Police Station against eight people. Later, police conducted a raid at the dormitory and recovered some weapons while the accused went into hiding. The law enforcers arrested eight people within three days of the incident. All the accused gave confessional statements before the court under section 164. On December 3, 2020, police submitted chargesheet against them. The college authorities later expelled all the accused in the case.  

The National University authorities have suspended the studentship of four over the gang-rape incident at MC College in Sylhet.

Protests against the growing incidents of rape, sexual harassment and violence against women are continuing in different parts of the city for the sixth consecutive day on Sunday.