United News of Bangladesh

Four more witnesses testified on Sunday before a Magura court in the sensational rape and murder case of eight-year-old Asiya. With this, a total of 23 witnesses have so far testified in the case. Judge Md Zahid Hasan of the Magura Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal recorded the testimonies. The witnesses are physicians Saharia Sultana and Jahura Khatun; and nurses Joly Parvin and Bornali Parvin. Earlier, on April 23, the same court framed charges against four accused in the case. Prime accused Hitu Sheikh has been charged with rape and murder. The court also fixed April 27 for recording witness testimonies. 4 accused indicted in Magura girl rape, murder case On April 13, sub-inspector Md Alauddin of Magura Sadar Police Station, the investigation officer in the case, submitted the charge-sheet to the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, naming four people as accused. Asiya died at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) on March 13, a week after she was raped, sparking widespread protests across the country. University students, including those from Dhaka University, took to the streets demanding capital punishment for the accused. Magura rape: Locals demand women madrasha at accused's home The prime accused in the case gave a confessional statement before the court. Police arrested victim’s brother-in-law Sajib Sheikh, 20, his brother Ratul Sheikh, 25, and her sister’s parents-in-law Hitu Sheikh, 50, and Jabeda Begum,  40, – in connection with the incident.

A Magura court on Monday midnight placed the main accused in a case over the rape of an 8-year old child on a 7-day remand and three others on a 5-day remand each.  Those remanded are prime accused Hitu Sheikh, 50, father-in-law of the victim’s elder sister, his wife Zayeda Khatun, and their two sons- Sajib Sheikh and Ratul Sheikh, of Nijnanduali village in Magura’s Sadar upazila. Court fails to hear remand hearing against Magura rape accused due to protest Police could not produce the accused in the child rape case before the court on Sunday due to security concerns, leading to a midnight hearing for their remand.  Chief Judicial Magistrate Abdul Matin of Magura passed the order after hearing the remand petition. The accused were not produced before the court in the day as students and locals staged a protest outside the Magura court demanding the death penalty for the rapists within 24 hours that raised security concerns and delayed the remand hearing, said Magura Sadar thana Officer-in-Charge Aiyub Hossain. All four were already in custody and were shown arrested after the case was filed. According to the case statement, Hitu Sheikh raped the child while the other accused assisted him. The case details further revealed that Hitu Sheikh had been making inappropriate proposal to his elder daughter-in-law since her marriage to Sajib four months ago. Despite the family’s awareness of the situation, no action was taken to address it. The incident occurred when the victim visited her sister’s in-laws’ house at Nijnanduali village in Magura’s Sadar upazila. She went to bed with her sister at night, but in the dead of night, her sister found her missing and began searching for her. After a frantic search, the girl was found unconscious a few yards away from the house. She was initially admitted to Magura General Hospital and later transferred to Faridpur Medical College Hospital as her condition deteriorated. On Thursday, she was moved to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) before being shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Dhaka. Magura rape: Students blocked Dhaka-Khulna highway demanding justice Meanwhile, university students, including that of Dhaka University, staged demonstrations early Sunday on their respective campuses, demanding the death penalty of the accused. Home Affairs Adviser Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury visited the girl at the CMH on Sunday and said the rapists will not be spared as the state is determined to ensure justice. 

A court in Magura has ordered a PBI probe into the death of a transport worker in alleged police torture as well as the registration of an FIR against five cops. Senior Judicial Magistrate (II) Sabyasachi Roy passed the order after the deceased's wife Jamuna Begum moved the court on Monday noon. The court ordered that the plaintiff's complaint be treated as an FIR and asked the PBI to investigate the matter. The accused in the case are Nakol police outpost in-charge sub-inspector Jamal, assistant sub-inspectors Siraj Molla, ASI Jasim and Bhaben, and police van driver Nazmul. Read:1 killed, 15 injured as villagers clash in Magura According to the case statement, the accused thrashed Abdus Salam, 45, a worker at the Wapda ticket counter in Sreepur upazila, in the wake of a false complaint from a person on Saturday. When Salam fell unconscious, the cops rushed him to Nakol camp first and then to Magura Sadar Hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival. As the news of the death became public, the relatives of the deceased and workers in the Wapda bus stand area blocked the Magura-Faridpur Road for about an hour, accusing SI Jamal of torturing Salam. Magura's police superintendent Zahirul Islam said that SI Jamal was suspended that day only. "A three-member probe committee has been formed to investigate the matter. Besides, the family of the deceased filed a complaint at Sreepur police station," he said.

The Magura Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court has directed the OC of Sreepur Police Station to appear in person before the court within three days as he has not submitted a report on the trial of a case in Magura even after two and a half years. Magura Chief Judicial Magistrate Court Judge M Zahid Hasan passed the order on Thursday to explain the pending matter. Sukdeb Roy, the current officer-in-charge (OC) of Sreepur Police Station, admitted receiving the court order in this regard. Read: Bumper beans harvest and good price bring delight to Magura farmers According to the case, Abdullah Sheikh, son of Moslem Sheikh of Madanpur village in Sreepur upazila, used to make his living as a starter at Sreepur bus stand. On July 1 in 2018, 26 people of his village attacked him with weapons at the Sreepur bus, leaving Abdullah seriously injured. The following day, his younger brother, Farooq Sheikh, filed a case with the Magura District Judge's Court. However, the case was pending with the court due to the delay in police investigation. Meanwhile, the 26th accused in the case, Naju Sheikh, 50, died after filing the case. On April 15, 2019, then Chief Judicial Magistrate Sunondo Bagchi wrote a letter to the Sreepur Police Station OC seeking a report on the accused's death. Read: Massive fire breaks out in Magura plywood factory Though two and a half years have elapsed, the Sreepur OC could not submit the report to the court. Sreepur OC Sukdeb Roy said three OCs have been changed during this period. "I don't know why the report has not been submitted so far. However, it must be explained as directed by the court," the OC added.