Masudur Rahman: Court has sentenced 16 people to death in a case over the murder of Nusrat Jahan Rafi, the girl who was torched to death after protesting against sexual abuse by the principal of a madrasa. Judge Md Mamunur Rashed of Feni Women and Child Repression Prevention Tribunal pronounced the judgement at the jam-packed courtroom at around 11.20 am in presence of all the 16 convicts.
The 16 convicts are- SM Siraj Uddoula, Md Nur Uddin, Md Shahadat Hossain Shamim, Maksud Alam, Saifur Rahman Md Zubayer, Jabed Hossain, Hafej Abdul Kader, Md Afsar Uddin, Qamrunnahar Moni, Umme Sultana Popi, Abdur Rahim Sharif, Iftekhar Uddin Rana, Imran Hossain, Md Shamim, Ruhul Amin and Mohiuddin Shakil.
Nusrat, a student of Sonagazi Islamia Fazil Madrasa, was set on fire by the perpetrators on Apr 6 for not withdrawing a sexual assault case against Siraj. The 18-year-old girl died on Apr 10, sending a shockwave across Bangladesh triggering protests against oppression of women and girls. All the convicts were present in the court.