A Dhaka court on Thursday sentenced the lone accused CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver Majnu to life imprisonment for raping a female student of Dhaka University at Kurmitola in the capital Dhaka on 5 January.
Justice Begum Mosammat Kamrunnahar of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-7 announced the verdict.
The court also fined him Tk 50,000, in default, asked him to serve six months more rigorous imprisonment.
The verdict in this case was announced in only 13 working days.
Before judgement, accused Majnu told journalists that he was tortured for giving confessional statements before the magistrate. Actually four others raped the victim. But he was implicated in the case, he claimed.
Majnu became very angry inside the courtroom when the trial began. He started rebuking the judge and lawyers. At one stage, he assaulted a police official and misbehaved with other law enforcers. Later, police brought the situation under control.
Considering the situation, the judge left the courtroom. Later the judge announced the verdict in her private room in presence of public prosecutor and the defense counsel.
The judge observed that the accused had committed a heinous offence by raping the student. For that reason he deserved the highest punishment mentioned in the existing law.
The judge hope that this judgment will send a clear message to other rapists like Majnu.
Victim's lawyer who is also the Special Public Prosecutor of the tribunal Afriza Farhana expressed satisfaction over the judgment.
But the defence counsel Md Robiul Islam expressed dissatisfaction over the judgment. He said that they would challenge the verdict with the higher court.
Neither the victim nor her parents were present in the courtroom during the announcement of the verdict.
After conclusion of hearing argument in the case, on November 12, Judge Begum Mosammat Quamrunnahar of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal 7 in Dhaka set the November 19 to hand down the judgment in the case.
A second-year student of Dhaka University was raped in Kurmitola after she mistakenly got off a bus there around 7pm on January 5 on her way to a friend's house at Joar Sahara, also known as Shewra.
On January 6, her father filed a case with Cantonment police station over the incident, which was later transferred to the Detective Branch of Police.
On January 8, the Rapid Action Battalion arrested Mojnu in Shewra rail crossing area. He gave a statement before a Dhaka court confessing his involvement in the crime on January 16.
On March 16, the DB submitted the chargesheet before a court in Dhaka against the lone accused in the case.
