Nusrat killing: Family demand execution of judgment
Although three year have elapsed since the gruesome murder of Feni madrasah student Nusrat Jahan Rafi, her family is still waiting to see the execution of the judgment, reports news agency UNB.
Nusrat, a student of Sonagazi Islamia Madrasah, was set on fire on 6 April in 2019 on the roof of the madrasah by people loyal to its principal Sirajuddoula whom she had accused of sexually harassing her.
She succumbed to her injuries on 10 April, 2019.
On Saturday, a doa mahfil was held and munajat was offered seeking salvation of her departed soul on the 3rd death anniversary of Nusrat, said Mahmudul Hasan Noman, elder brother of Nusrat.
On Sunday, Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) will place wreaths at the grave of Nusrat, he said.
“Propagandas are being spread on social networking sites Facebook, YouTube, Instagram defaming our family by the relatives of the convicts,” said Noman.
Already a case has been filed under the ICT Act against their propaganda which is under investigation at PBI.
Talking to UNB, Shirin Akter, mother of Nusrat, said “We have got justice by the judicial court and I have heard that the condemned convicts filed petitions before the Supreme Court. We are requesting the Prime Minister to take steps for quick execution of the judgment.”
On 29 October, 2019, the death references of the death-row convicts reached the High Court, said the plaintiff’s lawyer advocate M Shahjahan Saju.
The Chief Justice formed a bench for hearing the appeal on priority basis but later the bench was cancelled due to Covid-19 situation, he said.
No new bench has been formed yet to hear the appeal, he added.
The gruesome killing
Nusrat was set on fire on 6 April, 2019 on the roof of Sonagazi Islamia Madrasah by people loyal to principal Sirajuddoula whom she had accused of sexually harassing her.
She succumbed to her injuries four days later at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
A case was filed with Sonagazi police station on 8 April. Police pressed charges against 16 people.
Twelve of the accused reportedly confessed to their involvement in the killing of Nusrat.
Judgment
A tribunal in Feni sentenced the 16 people to death for their roles in killing Nusrat on 24 October, 2019.
The tribunal also fined the convicts Tk 100,000 each.
The convicts are madrasah principal SM Sirajuddoula, Awami League leader Ruhul Amin, Shahadat Hossain Shamim, Nur Uddin, Imran Hossain Mamun, Hafez Abdul Quader, Iftekhar Uddin Rana, Councillor Maksud Alam alias Moksud, Kamrunnahar Moni, Saifur Rahman Mohammad Zobair, Javed, Umme Sultana Popy, Mohiuddin Shakil, Mohammad Shamim, Abdur Rahim Sharif and Absar Uddin
On 10 May, 2019, Moazzem Hossain, the then officer-in-charge of Sonagazi Model police station, was suspended in connection with the murder.
He was accused of unlawfully interrogating Nusrat and recording it on phone. A video of the interrogation went viral on social media, prompting a lawyer to file a case against him on 15 April under the Digital Security Act.