A Feni tribunal had sentenced all 16 accused in the case to death on 24 October 2019.
Feni madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi. Photo: Collected
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Feni madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi. Photo: Collected
The High Court today (24 August) upheld the death sentences of two men, including SM Siraj-ud-Doula, then principal of Sonagazi Islamia Fazil Madrasah, in the 2019 murder case of student Nusrat Jahan Rafi.
The High Court bench of Justice Bhishmadev Chakraborty and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja delivered the verdict on the death reference and appeals filed by the convicted persons, commuting the death sentences of four others to life imprisonment.
Ten individuals originally sentenced to hang by a tribunal were acquitted.
Earlier, on 20 August, the High Court concluded hearings on the death reference and appeals, setting today for the verdict.
They were sent to the High Court for approval of the death sentences handed down by the tribunal, while the convicted persons also filed jail appeals and criminal appeals challenging the verdict.
On 29 October 2019, all case records related to the death sentences reached the High Court. The paper book containing the records was subsequently prepared on a priority basis.
After the necessary proceedings were completed, the case was placed before the chief justice, who assigned the matter to the High Court for hearing.
Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, when a trial court sentences an accused to death, the case records must be sent to the High Court for confirmation of the sentence.
On 24 October 2019, Feni Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Mamunur Rashid sentenced all 16 accused in the case to death. The court also fined each of them Tk1 lakh.
The case originated from a sexual harassment allegation against SM Siraj-ud-Doula, then principal of Sonagazi Islamia Fazil Madrasah. Nusrat’s mother, Shirin Akhter, filed a case against him on 27 March 2019, following which police arrested the principal.
According to the case proceedings, several of Siraj’s followers subsequently attempted to build public support for securing his release from jail. On 3 April of that year, the accused consulted Siraj in jail, and a plan to kill Nusrat was made the following day at the madrasah hostel.
On 6 April, Nusrat went to the madrasah to sit for her Alim examination. She was taken to the roof of a cyclone shelter, where an attempt was made to kill her as part of the plan.
Nusrat was rescued from the scene and initially taken to Sonagazi Upazila Health Complex. She was later shifted to Feni General Hospital and, as her condition deteriorated, transferred to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
She died while undergoing treatment there on 10 April 2019.
Nusrat’s brother, Mahmudul Hasan Noman, filed a murder case on 8 April. Police submitted the charge sheet on 28 May, and the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal framed charges on 20 June.
The court subsequently recorded testimony and heard arguments before fixing 24 October for the verdict on 30 September of that year. The trial, including the recording of testimony from 87 witnesses and arguments, was completed in just 61 working days.
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