Dhaka: The High Court on Monday upheld the death sentences of two convicts and commuted the sentences of four others to life imprisonment in the high-profile murder case of madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi in Sonagazi upazila of Feni. The verdict was delivered by the High Court bench of Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the two individuals whose death sentences were upheld are SM Siraj-ud-Daula, the expelled principal of Sonagazi Islamia Senior Fazil Madrasa, and Shahadat Hossain, also known as Shamim. Those whose sentences were commuted to life imprisonment are Nur Uddin, Saifur Rahman Mohammad Jobayer, Jabed Hossain alias Sakhawat Hossain, and Umme Sultana alias Popy. The court acquitted ten others due to insufficient evidence against them.
The acquitted individuals include Maqsood Alam alias Moksud, a former councillor and previous general secretary of the Sonagazi municipality Awami League, and Ruhul Amin, president of Sonagazi Upazila Awami League and former vice-president of the madrasa. Other acquitted individuals are Hafez Abdul Quader, Absar Uddin, Kamrun Nahar Moni, Abdur Rahim Sharif, Iftekhar Uddin Rana, Imran Hossain alias Mamun, Mohiuddin Shakil, and Mohammad Shamim.
The verdict was pronounced following the death references and appeals filed after the trial court’s decision. On October 24, 2019, all 16 accused had been sentenced to death by the Feni Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal for the murder of Nusrat, who was set ablaze at her madrasa in April 2019 after accusing the principal of sexual harassment. Additionally, each convict was fined Tk 1 lakh.
The prosecution detailed that Nusrat’s mother, Shirin Akhter, lodged a case against SM Siraj-ud-Daula on March 27, 2019, accusing him of sexually harassing her daughter, which led to his arrest. His supporters, in an attempt to secure his release, plotted to silence Nusrat. On April 6, Nusrat was lured to the roof of a cyclone shelter at her madrasa, where she was set on fire for refusing to withdraw her accusations.
Nusrat was initially treated at Sonagazi Upazila Health Complex, then transferred to Feni General Hospital, and later to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries on April 10, 2019. Her brother, Mahmudul Hasan Noman, subsequently filed a murder case on April 8. Police filed the charge sheet on May 28, and charges were framed on June 20 by the Feni Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal, which recorded testimonies from 87 witnesses before delivering its verdict on October 24, 2019.