Provoking Suicide of Serafina Mardi
Five jailed for 10 yrs, four juvenile offenders for 8 yrs
Rajshahi Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-1 on Monday awarded ten years rigorous imprisonment (RI) to five people in the case for provoking suicide of Serafina Mardi, an indigenous girl of Godagari upazila in Rajshahi.
EKM Ekramul Haque, the judge, also fined Tk two lakh each, in default, to suffer three years more.
The accused are Serafina's rapists Nirmol Soren, Jewel, Shimon Hembrom, Julian, and Karlus Mardi and all are absconding.
The same judge of a juvenile court yesterday awarded eight years RI to four other accused -- Porimal Soren, Rajon, Eliash and Simon. They were fined Tk one lakh each, in default, to suffer three months more.
The four were tried in the juvenile court for their underage, said Public Prosecutor Sayeda Morjina Begum.
The accused people gang-raped Serafina at her Amtulipara village on the day of Easter Sunday on April 4, 2010, goes the prosecution.
Serafina lodged a case against the rapists with the local police station but later local community leaders held an 'out-of-court settlement of Tk 1.40 lakh' to save the rapists from the trial and punishment.
Failing to bear the humiliation, Serafina set herself ablaze after pouring kerosene on the body on February 17 in 2011 and she succumbed to her injuries on February 20.
After Serafina's death, police recorded a case for provoking suicide against 13 people including the community leaders under question and arrested 10 of them. Later Serafina's mother Shusana Soren lodged another case with the court against nine alleged rapists.
Following the court's order, police investigated both the cases together and pressed a single charge sheet against 22 people.
Thirteen other accused including the community leaders were acquitted as the prosecution failed to prove the allegations.
Serafina's lawyer advocate Hamidul Haque said, "We are not satisfied with part of the judgment where the community leaders were acquitted. If the plaintiff agrees, we will appeal against the verdict in the higher court."
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