Rape, Murder of Minor: SC stays HC acquittal of two death row convicts

The Supreme Court yesterday stayed a High Court verdict that acquitted two death row convicts in a case filed over the rape and murder of a schoolgirl, Fatima Akhter Eti, in Mathbaria upazila of Pirojpur district in 2014.

Chamber judge of the SC's Appellate Division Justice Obaidul Hassan passed the order following a petition filed by the state, seeking stay on the judgement.

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The apex court's chamber judge also sent the stay petition to its full bench for hearing on August 1, said Deputy Attorney General Dr Md Bashir Ullah.

The reason behind SC decision will be known after the full hearing, he added.

He said nine-year-old Eti, a third grader and daughter of Ful Miah Hawlader of Jhatibunia village, used to live at her maternal grandfather's house at Bandhabpara-Bukhaitala village.

When the child went to a nearby field to bring back a cow -- belonging to her family -- home on October 5, 2014, Mehedi Hasan Swapan and Sumon Jamadder of the village forcibly took her to an orchard and raped her.

As she cried for help, they strangled her to death. Relatives found her body from the orchard the following day.

Following a case filed by Eti's father with Mathbaria Police Station, police arrested Swapan, who is Eti's cousin, and Sumon. After interrogation, they confessed to the crimes.

The Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribual-1 on January 31, 2016 convicted and sentenced Swapan and Sumon to death.

On June 30 this year, the HC acquitted both of them on the ground that the lower court had no jurisdiction to hold the trial as Sumon was 16-year-old, a minor, at the time of the incident while Swapan was convicted based on Suman's confessional statement.