Nusrat murder : HC upholds death penalty of ex-principal Siraj among 2; 10 acquitted

Collected Photo

The High Court on Monday upheld the death sentence of two convicts, commuted four others to life imprisonment and acquitted 10 in the sensational Nusrat Jahan Rafi murder case.

Justice Bhishmadeb Chakraborty and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja of a High Court bench delivered the verdict after hearing the death reference and appeals filed by the convicts.

According to case statements, SM Siraj-ud-Doula, ex-principal of the Sonagazi Islamia Fazil (degree) Madrasa, sexually harassed Nusrat in his office on March 27, 2019.

Police detained Siraj after a case was filed.

On April 6, 2019, miscreants tied Nusrat’s hands and feet on the roof of the madrasa and set her on fire for refusing to withdraw the case. She succumbed to her injuries at Dhaka Medical College Hospital burn unit on April 10 that year.

Nusrat’s elder brother, Mahmudul Hasan Noman, filed a case with Sonagazi Police Station, which was later turned into a murder case.

On October 24, 2019, Judge Md Mamunur Rashid of the Feni Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal sentenced all 16 accused to death, including principal Siraj-ud-Doula. The trial court also fined each of them Tk 1 lakh.

The 16 original convicts were former principal SM Siraj-ud-Doula, former Sonagazi Upazila Awami League suspended president Md Ruhul Amin, Nur Uddin, Shahadat Hossain alias Shamim, ward councilor Maksud Alam, Saifur Rahman Md Jobayer, Javed Hossain alias Sakhawat Hossain Javed, teacher Hafez Abdul Kader, lecturer Absar Uddin, Kamrun Nahar Moni, Umme Sultana Popy, Abdur Rahim Sharif, Iftekhar Uddin Rana, Imran Hossain alias Mamun, Md Shamim, and Mohiuddin alias Shakil.