A court on Thursday sentenced two accused to life term rigorous imprisonment in the case of kidnapping and gang rape of a teenage girl in Mithapukur upazila of the district 20 years ago.
At the same time, the court fined the convicts Taka one lakh each, or in default, to undergo one more year in prison. Judge of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal of Rangpur Md. Mostafa Kamal handed down the sentence in presence of the convicts this noon.
The convicts are Rafiqul Islam and Shah Alam of village Muradpur in Mithapukur upazila of the district.
Prosecution said the victim girl of the same village of Muradpur went to her elder sister's house in the nearby area on May 14, 2002. At around 8 pm on the day, the victim went to bring water from a tube well outside her sister’s house when the accused forcibly abducted the girl and gang-raped her in a nearby paddy field.
The local people came forward on her screams when the accused fled from the spot.
The victim's father went to the Mithapukur police station to file a case on the next day, but failed to file the case in this connection.
Later, he filed a case in the court when the Judge directed the Officer-in-Charge of Mithapukur police station to record the case and take necessary measures.
Accordingly, the police investigated the incident after the case and subsequently, submitted a charge sheet against the accused to the court on June 30, 2002.
After examining eight witnesses and other evidences of the case, the court sentenced the two accused to life imprisonment and fined them Taka one lakh each.
