6 get life for raping girl in Panchagarh

A Panchagarh court yesterday sentenced six people to life term imprisonment for raping a girl in Panchagarh's Atwari upazila on August 6, 2022.

District and Sessions Judge and Judge of the Panchagrh Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Md Masud Parvez delivered the verdict in a crowded court room, Special Public Prosecutor of the tribunal Zakir Hossain confirmed the verdict.

The convicts are Hasan Ali, 22, of Malgoba village, Saiful Islam, 49, Aminul Islam, alias Dipjol, 24, Amor Chandra Barman, 35, Nazrul Islam, 45, of Puraton Atwari village, and Sabuj Ali, 27, of Fatehpur village in Panchagarh's Atwari upazila.

Earlier, on August 6, 2022, the father of the victim filed a case with Atwari Police Station accusing seven individuals for raping his daughter.

One of the accused was a minor at the time of the incident and the verdict in his case will be announced by the Juvenile Court on June 17 this year, according to court sources.

According to the case statement, the girl, a Class X student at the time got into a relationship with convict, Hasan Ali.

On August 6, 2022, around 4:00pm, Hasan brought the girl to Panchagarh town.

Later, along with his 17-year-old accomplice, he took her on a motorcycle ride to various locations and then brought her to a secluded orchard in the Puraton Atwari–Bandarpara village around dust.

There, around 8:00pm, Hasan and his friend raped the girl.

At that time, five other individuals—Saiful, Aminul, Amor Chandra, Nazrul, and Sabuj—arrived at the scene. Seeing them, Hasan and his friend fled on the motorcycle, leaving the girl behind.

When the girl asked the five men for help, they took her into nearby bushes under the pretense of helping her and raped her as well.

Later, one of the perpetrators brought her to a nearby road and fled.

A local resident rescued her that night and took her to a nearby house. After collecting her family's phone numbers, they contacted her relatives, who admitted her to Panchagarh Sadar Hospital later that night.

Md Sohel Rana, the then officer-in-charge of Atwari Police Station and investigating officer, submitted the charge sheet to the court against seven accused including one juvenile on August 31, 2023.

After examining case records and statements of 14 witnesses of the case, the court delivered the verdict.