DHAKA: A court in Netrokona on Wednesday (Nov 11) sentenced madrasa teacher Aman Ullah Mahmudi Sagor to death for raping an 11-year-old girl and making her pregnant in Madan upazila.
His brother Mamun Mia Maimun, who was also an accused in the case, was acquitted as the allegation that he had threatened the victim’s family could not be proved.
Judge Md Abdus Salam of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal in Netrokona pronounced the verdict in the presence of both accused after examining witness testimonies, DNA test reports and other scientific evidence.
The court also fined the convict Tk 1 lakh and directed that the child born as a result of the rape be recognised as Sagor’s child and registered accordingly, said Nurul Kabir Rubel, public prosecutor of the tribunal.
It also observed that the state would bear all expenses related to the child’s upbringing and welfare, with the government entitled to recover the expenses from the convict.
The girl was a student at the female Qawmi madrasa that Sagor founded and taught, according to the court and the case statement.
After her parents separated, the girl lived with her maternal grandfather and attended the madrasa, situated in the Panchhar Borobari area of Kaitail union in Madan upazila.
Her mother worked as a domestic help in Sylhet to support the family.
Sagor repeatedly raped the girl, and at one stage, she became pregnant.
The incident came to light on April 18, when the girl underwent a medical examination at a clinic in Madan municipality. A doctor informed her family that she was seven months pregnant.
On April 23, the girl’s mother filed a case against Sagor and his brother Maimun with Madan Police Station under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.
After the case was filed, the prime accused went into hiding. Members of Rapid Action Battalion-14 later arrested Sagor in Mymensingh’s Gauripur upazila on May 6. Police subsequently handed him over to Madan Police Station.
On May 10, the investigating officer sought the court’s permission to conduct a DNA test on the prime accused. The court approved the application.
Meanwhile, following an application by the girl’s mother, the court on May 12 ordered that she be moved to a safe shelter in Sylhet run by the Department of Social Services, citing concerns for her safety and protection.
As per the court’s order, Sagor was taken to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters in Dhaka on May 16. His DNA sample was collected the following day.
While staying at the safe shelter in Sylhet, the victim gave birth to a girl at a local hospital on July 2.
To establish the newborn’s paternity, the investigation officer filed an application with the court on July 9 seeking a DNA test.
CID officials collected the newborn’s DNA sample on July 28 and compared it with the sample previously collected from Sagor.
The CID test found a 99.99 percent match between the DNA samples of Sagor and the newborn.
After receiving the DNA test report, investigation officer Md Akhtaruzzaman of Madan Police Station submitted the charge sheet to the court on Aug 27, naming both Sagor and his brother as accused. - The Daily Star/ANN
