Shirin Akter, mother of madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi, on Monday expressed satisfaction with the High Court verdict in the widely discussed murder case of her daughter and sought security for her family, alleging that they had received threats.
“I am satisfied with the verdict, Alhamdulillah,” she told reporters at her home in Char Chandia area of Sonagazi upazila in Feni after the verdict was announced.
Shirin said some people had attempted to portray Nusrat’s death as a suicide after the incident. “But today’s verdict has once again proved that it was a murder,” she said.
She alleged that her family had received threats of arson attacks on their home and harm to family members, and sought security from the authorities, including Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
Sub-Inspector Palash Chandra Roy of Feni Model Police Station, who is part of the security detail for the family, said additional security measures had been taken around their home to prevent any untoward incident following the verdict.
The High Court on Monday upheld the death sentences of two convicts in the Nusrat murder case after hearing the death reference, appeals and jail appeals filed in the case.
The two convicts are Siraj-ud-Doula, the expelled principal of Sonagazi Islamia Senior Fazil Madrasa, and Shahadat Hossain alias Shamim.
The court commuted the death sentences of four convicts to life imprisonment and acquitted 10 others.
Those sentenced to life imprisonment are Nur Uddin, Saifur Rahman Mohammad Jobayer, Jabed Hossain alias Sakhawat Hossain and Umme Sultana alias Popy.
The acquitted accused are Maqsood Alam alias Moksud, former councillor and former general secretary of Sonagazi municipality Awami League; Hafez Abdul Quader; Absar Uddin; Kamrun Nahar Moni; Abdur Rahim Sharif; Iftekhar Uddin Rana; Imran Hossain alias Mamun; Ruhul Amin, president of Sonagazi upazila Awami League and former vice-president of the madrasa; Mohiuddin Shakil; and Mohammad Shamim.
According to the prosecution, Siraj-ud-Doula sexually harassed Nusrat in his office on 27 March 2019. He was arrested after a case was filed over the incident.
On 6 April 2019, Nusrat was taken to the roof of the madrasa building after she refused to withdraw the case against the principal. Her hands and legs were tied, and kerosene was poured over her before she was set on fire.
Nusrat died on 10 April while undergoing treatment at a Dhaka hospital.
Her elder brother Mahmudul Hasan Noman filed a case with Sonagazi Police Station over the incident, which was later converted into a murder case.
On 24 October 2019, Feni Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Mamunur Rashid sentenced all 16 accused, including suspended principal Siraj-ud-Doula, to death.
