Man sentenced to death for rape of stepdaughter in Keraniganj

A Dhaka court has sentenced a man to death for the rape of his stepdaughter in Dhaka’s South Keraniganj four years ago.

Judge Munshi Md Moshiar Rahman of the Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal delivered the verdict in the case on Wednesday.

The court also fined the convict Motahar, identified with a single name, Tk 100,000.

State lawyer Ershad Alam George said, “The Dhaka district magistrate has been instructed to sell the suspect’s liquid and non-liquid assets and pay the fine to the victim.”

Motahar was brought before the tribunal before the verdict. Afterwards, a warrant was issued against him and he was then taken to prison.

Motahar originally came from Kurahar village in Bogura’s Shibganj.

The case documents say that the victim lived with her mother and stepfather in South Keraniganj. As they did not have any alternate arrangements, all three lived in the same room. Motahar had allegedly made inappropriate comments to her at various times. Then, on the night of Jun 20, 2021, the accused raped the victim. He also threatened to kill her if she told anyone about it.

On Sept 22, after Motahar attacked her again, the victim informed her mother. After learning of the incident, her mother and stepfather threw her out of the house. She then went to stay with her father. Then, on Sept 24, she filed a case against Motahar at South Keraniganj Model Police Station.

After an investigation, Sub Inspector Abul Hasan filed a chargesheet against Motahar in court on May 27, 2022. The court indicted him and the trial began. The court heard the testimonies of eight people during the trial before delivering its verdict on Wednesday.