Ctg court sentences rickshaw puller to death for child murder
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
A court sentenced a man to death for killing an eight-year-old child by bludgeoning his head with a brick after an attempted rape in Patenga, Chattogram.
Judge Nishkriti Hagidok of the Chattogram Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court announced the verdict on Thursday. Bench Assistant Mohammad Omar Fuad confirmed the matter to Agamir Somoy.
The person sentenced to death is Imon Hossain, 38. He is a rickshaw puller. Imon used to live in the Purba Ahammad Para area under Patenga Police Station.
According to court documents and Imon’s confessional statement, child Sohag’s family was Imon’s neighbor. Sohag’s father is also a rickshaw puller. The incident occurred on 8 March 2018, around 11:30 am.
While returning home, Imon saw Sohag playing. Luring him with the promise of feeding him plums, Imon took him to an abandoned room in Chairman Gali of Patenga. There, he attempted to rape him. However, Sohag resisted him and threatened to inform his mother about the incident.
Fearing that his misdeed would become known, Imon panicked. He struck Sohag on the head with a brick several times. After ensuring his death, Imon fled the scene.
On the afternoon of that day, police recovered Sohag’s body. Following the incident, his father Faruk Hossain Bhuiyan filed a murder case at Patenga Police Station. Conducting an operation, police arrested Imon on the same day. Admitting his crime in court, he gave a confessional statement under Section 164.
Five months after the murder, on 8 August, investigating officer SI Zakir Hossain submitted a charge sheet against Imon to the court. Following the framing of charges, the court delivered the verdict after taking testimony from 12 witnesses.
Imon was fined Tk 20,000 and handed an additional one year of simple imprisonment in default of payment. During the trial, Imon obtained bail and went into hiding. As he was not present in court at the time of the verdict announcement, the judge issued an arrest warrant along with a death warrant against him.
