Death Penalty for Youth Who Raped and Murdered Child

A special court in Bangladesh has sentenced a 26-year-old man to death for the brutal rape and murder of a five-year-old girl in the Noakhali district. Farzana Akhtar, the presiding judge of the Noakhali Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-2, delivered the verdict in a packed courtroom on Monday afternoon.

The convict, Mohammad Shahadat, a resident of Badalkot Union under Chatkhil Upazila, was also ordered to pay a fine of 100,000 Taka. Shahadat was present in the dock when the sentence was pronounced. Following the verdict, authorities transferred him to the Noakhali District Jail under heavy security to await his execution.

According to court proceedings, the harrowing incident began on 24 March 2022. The victim vanished from her family courtyard at around 1:30 pm. Her sudden disappearance triggered an anxious search by relatives and neighbours, but no trace of the child could be found. Following a preliminary investigation into the disappearance, local law enforcement authorities detained Shahadat as a primary suspect.

During rigorous interrogation, Shahadat confessed to his involvement, which eventually unravelled the mystery behind the child’s disappearance. Guided by information provided during his questioning, investigators discovered the victim’s body on 3 April 2022—nine days after she went missing. The remains had been concealed inside a disused septic tank behind Shahadat’s residence. The recovery of the body sparked immense public outrage and mourning across the locality. Following this, the victim’s father filed a formal case with the Chatkhil Police Station under the relevant sections of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act and the Penal Code, leading to Shahadat’s formal arrest.

Shahadat later gave a voluntary confessional statement before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. In his deposition, he admitted that he had lured the young child away to an isolated spot by offering her chocolates before assaulting her. Fearing that the victim would reveal the assault to her family, he strangled her to death and dumped her body into the septic tank, covering it with a concrete slab to destroy the evidence.

The investigation officer subsequently submitted a formal charge sheet naming Shahadat as the sole accused. Throughout the trial, the state prosecution presented crucial witnesses and forensic evidence to substantiate the charges. After a detailed assessment of the evidence and concluding arguments, the court delivered the final judgment.

Public Prosecutor Selim Shahi expressed his satisfaction with the judicial outcome. He remarked that the verdict delivers justice for the victim’s family and serves as a strict warning against such heinous crimes, reinforcing the rule of law within the community. Speaking outside the courtroom, the victim’s grieving father welcomed the decision, acknowledging that whilst the