Man sentenced to life imprisonment for raping 7-year-old daughter in Dhaka

A man was sentenced to life term today for raping his seven-year-old daughter in Dhaka's Hazaribagh area in April 2018.

Judge Begum Shamsunnahar of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-5 of Dhaka handed down the sentence in the presence of the lone accused Akter Sardar in a packed courtroom, Advocate Fahmida Akter Rinky, a lawyer for the victim, told The Daily Star.

The judge fined the man Tk 50,000, in default of which will suffer six months more in jail, she said.

In her judgment, the judge said the prosecution was able to prove the charges against the accused beyond doubt, and the accused was handed the highest punishment for his offenses.

According to the case documents, Akter raped his seven-year-old daughter at his rented house in Dhaka's Hazaribagh area when the complainant [victim's mother] went to a nearby house for prayers on the night of April 15, 2018.

Following the incident, a case was filed with Hazaribagh Police Station against the accused on May 3 that year.

Police arrested the perpetrator in connection with the case, and he confessed his involvement in the crime.

On December 11 that year, police submitted the charge sheet to the court against the lone accused. The court framed charges against Akter on April 3, 2019.

Nine prosecution witnesses gave their depositions to the court in the case.