Four young men lured a five-year-old child away with the promise of giving her Kadam flowers, gang-raped her until she became unconscious, and then drowned her in a river before burying her body in the riverbed in Dhobaura of Mymensingh.
Two of the accused confessed to the rape and murder on Tuesday, and the other two did so on Wednesday, before judicial magistrate Tanoy Saha at the Mymensingh Chief Judicial Magistrate Court.
Arif Miah, 19, and Rakib Miah, 21, gave their confessional statements in court on Tuesday. On Wednesday afternoon, Maruf Miah, 19, and Md Saim Miah, 19, also recorded their confessions.
According to the relatives of the deceased child and the case statement, the five-year-old went missing from near her house at around 5:00 pm on Sunday. Family members searched all possible locations but could not find her. Later, around 7:30 pm, local residents searched a bend in the Kangsha River, located 500 yards away from the child's house, and discovered her body buried at the bottom of the river.
Upon receiving the news, family members rushed to the spot, identified the body, and recovered it. That same night, while bathing the body in preparation for burial, wounds were noticed on the child's private parts. Consequently, the burial preparations were halted, and the police were informed. The police arrived at the scene around 12:30 am.
All four accused in this sensational child rape and murder case have been arrested. We have directed the rapid preparation of the police report so that the case can be resolved within the shortest possible time.
Regarding the incident, the child's father filed a case with Dhobaura police station on Monday night, alleging gang rape and murder. Although the case filed charges against unidentified individuals, Maruf Miah, Arif Miah, Rakib Miah, and Md Saim Miah of the area were listed as suspects.
Police stated that after being arrested as suspects, the four young men were produced before the court. In their confessional statements to the court, they admitted that they strategically lured the child to a secluded, jungle-covered area on the banks of the Kangsha River under the pretext of giving her Kadam flowers. The child was raped there. When she became unresponsive, they took her into the Kangsha River while she was still alive, drowned her to ensure her death, and buried her in the mud.
The youth told the police they committed the act out of fear that the crime would be exposed.
Mymensingh Court Inspector Mostasinur Rahman stated that in connection with the gang rape and murder of the five-year-old child, four individuals gave detailed accounts of the incident and confessed to their involvement on Tuesday and Wednesday. The court subsequently ordered them to be sent to jail.
I am deeply shocked and outraged by this brutal, barbaric, and inhumane act committed against the child. Words fail to condemn this horrific incident. Such savagery against an innocent child brings shame upon our entire society.
Mymensingh District Superintendent of Police, Mohammad Kamrul Hasan, said, "All four accused in this sensational child rape and murder case have been arrested. We have directed the rapid preparation of the police report so that the case can be resolved within the shortest possible time."
The president of the District Bar Association, Nurul Haque, announced that no lawyer would stand in court to defend the accused.
All members of the association have been requested not to represent anyone involved in such a brutal incident against a five-year-old child, he stated.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday afternoon, Syed Emran Saleh, joint general secretary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and administrator of the Mymensingh District Council, went to console the victim's family.
During the visit, he offered condolences to the parents of the deceased child on behalf of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and himself, and inquired about the family's well-being.
Emran Saleh remarked, "I am deeply shocked and outraged by this brutal, barbaric, and inhumane act committed against the child. Words fail to condemn this horrific incident. Such savagery against an innocent child brings shame upon our entire society."
He added that he met with the law minister on Tuesday to ensure a swift and fair trial. The law minister assured him that, similar to the trial of the child rape and murder case in Pallabi, Mirpur, Dhaka, a speedy trial would be ensured for this child's rape and murder case as well.