Youth sentenced to death for raping and killing six-year-old girl
A court in Cox’s Bazar’s Maheshkhali has sentenced a youth named Md. Soleman to death for raping and killing six-year-old girl Mahiya and disposing of her body. Judge Mohammad Osman Gani of Cox’s Bazar Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-2 announced the verdict on Tuesday (August 26) afternoon. The convicted accused Md. Soleman was present in the court at the time. After the verdict was announced, Soleman broke down in tears while being taken from the court to jail and claimed innocence. Soleman is the son of the late Syed Karim of Chakmarkul area of Hoaykyong union in Teknaf. The late Mahiya (6) is the daughter of Mohammad Ataullah of Dakshin Sirardail area of Matarbari union in Maheshkhali upazila. She was a first-grade student of Dakshin Sirardail Government Primary School. State lawyer Mosharraf Hossain Titu expressed satisfaction with the verdict and said, “Justice has been established through this verdict. By punishing the brutal murderer, the criminals will not dare to commit such crimes again. The judge has ruled to hang the accused and confirm the death penalty.” Ataullah, the plaintiff in the case and the victim’s father, said that his daughter Mahiya was playing near his house on November 30, 2022, after returning from school. At that time, she was abducted. Later, she was raped and killed and her body was disappeared. The body was recovered from the Kariardia area of the neighboring Pekua upazila. Mahiya’s father filed a murder case with the Maheshkhali police station on December 3, 2022. The court gave this verdict today after a long judicial process.
