On Tuesday (July 14) at noon, Judge Swapan Kumar Sarkar of the Sylhet Fast Track Tribunal announced the verdict in this case after nearly five years and ten months.
The accused in the case are— Saifur Rahman, Shah Mahbubur Rahman Roni, Tarekul Islam Tarek, Arjun Laskar, Ainuddin, Misbaul Islam Rajon, Rabiul, and Mahfuzur Rahman. The charge sheet stated that they were involved in the politics of various groups of Chhatra League in the Tilagor area of Sylhet city.
According to court sources, after the case was transferred to the Fast Track Tribunal, a total of 24 witnesses testified. Among the witnesses were the victimized young woman, her husband, the investigating officer, the judicial magistrate, a teacher from MC College, and a doctor from the forensic department of Osmani Medical College Hospital.
According to the case details, on the evening of September 25, 2020, while returning from the Shahparan shrine area, a couple's private car was stopped in front of the main gate of MC College, and they were taken to the college hostel. There, the husband was detained, and the young woman was gang-raped inside the car. Allegations were also raised of robbing them of money and detaining the car.
On the night of the incident, the victim's husband filed a case at Shahparan police station naming six individuals. During the investigation, the involvement of two more people was identified. A separate case filed over the extortion by detaining the car is also being tried in connection with the same incident.
Although the accused went into hiding after the incident, all eight were arrested within three days in operations by the police and RAB. During the investigation, several accused gave confessional statements in court. Additionally, the investigation report stated that DNA tests matched evidence collected from the scene with six of the eight accused.
On December 3, 2021, the then Inspector (Investigation) of Shahparan police station, Indranil Bhattacharjee, submitted the charge sheet against the eight accused in court.
