Madrasa superintendent gets life term for raping 5th-grader in Bagerhat

A Bagerhat court has sentenced a madrasa superintendent to life in prison for raping a fifth-grade madrasa student in Sarankhola upazila of Bagerhat back in August 2019.

Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Noor-e-Alam announced the verdict at 12pm Thursday with accused Ilias Jomaddar, 48, at the dock. The court also fined the convict Tk20,000, which if failed to pay, will result in an additional year of jail time.

“On March 9, 2020, the court took the charge sheet into cognizance and framed the charges. Restricted court activities due to the coronavirus pandemic slowed down the case proceedings. But the court was able to swiftly record the testimonies of all witnesses between September-October before arriving at the verdict on November 5,” said Ranjit Kumar Mandal, the assistant public prosecutor of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal.

Citing the case statement, he said, the girl, a fifth-grade madrasa student from Uttar Khontakata village in Sarankhola upazila was raped under intimidation by Ilias Jomaddar, her tutor at a madrasa library on August 8, 2019.

Later, when the girl fell sick and was admitted to a local hospital, she disclosed the matter to her father. The girl’s father then filed a case with Sarankhola police station against Ilias Jomaddar under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act on August 19, 2019.

On October 18, 2019, Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), the case investigating agency, arrested Ilias Jomaddar from Fakirhat, who had been hiding there.

Soon after, Ilias confessed to his crime before a court under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Later, PBI submitted a charge sheet in court against Ilias on November 13, 2019.