HC bench sits at night, orders release of 4 children held over rape case in Barishal

Two High Court judges operated a bench last night and directed the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal of Barishal to instantly grant bail to four children sent to a child development center in connection with a case filed over raping a six-year old in Bakerganj.

The children are all between 10 and 11 years of age, reports UNB.

SC Special Officer Md Saifur Rahman told The Daily Star early today that the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal of Barishal granted bail to the children immediately after receiving the HC order through e-mail.

The bail order was also communicated to Jashore authorities and the deputy commissioner of Jashore has taken necessary steps to send the children to their guardians with proper protection, he said.

Late Thursday night, in a suo moto (voluntary) order, the HC bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim directed the authorities concerned to release the four children from Children Development Centre in Jashore's Pulerhat on bail and hand them over to their guardians within last night.

Officer-in-Charge of Bakerganj Police Station has also been ordered to submit a report to the Supreme Court special officer by 10:30am today after handing the children over to their guardians.

The HC bench came up with the order around 10:00pm last night following a report broadcast on private television channel Shomoy TV on the incident of arresting the children and inhumanly taking them to Jashore Children Development Centre following rejection of their bail prayer.

Court sources said the HC judges ordered Senior Judicial Magistrate of Barishal Enayet Ullah, who rejected the bail petitions of the detained children, to appear before the HC bench on Sunday to place his explanation for rejecting the bail petition.                                  

The HC bench also ordered the OC of Bakerganj Police Station to appear before the bench along with the children and their guardians on Sunday.

It further asked the registrar of Barishal Medical College Hospital to submit the medical report of the victim of the alleged rape incident to this court on Sunday.

The rape took place in Bakerganj on October 6 and the victim's father filed the case on the same day.

Bakerganj police arrested the four children on October 7 and produced them before the court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Enayet Ullah on the same day. He rejected their bail petition and ordered the police to send them to Jashore Children Development Centre, HC sources said.