A court in Lalmonirhat on Monday sentenced a convict, Md Nurnabi, to life rigorous imprisonment in a case filed over the rape of a schoolgirl and pornography in Hatibandha Upazila, Lalmonirhat.
Judge Nityananda Sarkar of the Lalmonirhat Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal pronounced the verdict on Monday afternoon. The court acquitted two co-accused in the case, Md Mubarok Ali and Md Belal Hossain, as the charges against them were not proven.
Under Section 9(1) of the Prevention of Women and Children Repression Act, 2000, convict Md Nurnabi was sentenced to life rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk50,000, in default to serve an additional three months of rigorous imprisonment.
Furthermore, under Section 8(1) of the Pornography Control Act, 2012, he was handed three years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Tk30,000, in default two more months of imprisonment.
In addition, under Section 8(3) of the same Act, he was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk20,000, in default one extra month of imprisonment.
The court ordered all the sentences to run concurrently. The First Information Report (FIR) states that the victim’s father, Nurul Haque, filed the case with Hatibandha Police Station in 2015.
The FIR also said that accused Nurnabi and Rakibul Islam forcibly raped his daughter and recorded a video of the act. Subsequently, showing that video, two to three unidentified individuals made indecent proposals to the victim. Upon learning about the matter, the victim’s family lodged a written complaint with the police station.
Expressing satisfaction with the verdict, prosecution lawyer Advocate Lutfor Rahman said that the victim’s father had sent her to inspect a spinach field. From there, convict Nurnabi took her to a cornfield, forcibly raped her at gunpoint, and recorded a video.
The court delivered the verdict after recording the testimony of 19 witnesses. The prosecutor added that this judgment would help reduce criminal tendencies in society.
