16 sentenced to death in Nusrat murder case

A tribunal in Feni on Thursday sentenced 16 people to death for their roles in killing madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi, reports news agency UNB.

District women and children repression prevention tribunal judge Mamunur Rashid pronounced the verdict.

The convicts are -- madrasa principal SM Siraj Ud Daula, local 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.

The Tribunal also fined them Tk 100,000 each.

Nusrat was set on fire on 6 April on the roof of a madrasa she attended, allegedly by people loyal to Siraj Ud Daula whom she had accused of sexually harassing her.

She succumbed to her injuries four days later at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

A case was filed with Sonagazi police station on 8 April. Police pressed charges in court against 16 people on 29 May.

Twelve of the accused reportedly confessed to their involvement in the killing of Nusrat, a student of Sonagazi Islamia Madrasa.

On 10 May, 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 the social media, prompting a lawyer to file a case against him on 15 April under the Digital Security Act.