The High Court today commuted the death sentence of two convicts to life imprisonment for killing 13-year-old Rakib by blowing air through his rectum back in 2015.
The court also fined the convicts — Omar Sharif and Mintu — Tk 50,000 for killing the boy and set two-year additional imprisonment term for fine default.
The bench of Justice Md Zahngir Hossain Selim and Justice Md Zahangir Hossain came up with the verdict after hearing the death reference and appeals of the convicts.
Terming the HC verdict “unjust”, Rakib’s family members today expressed their dissatisfaction over the judgement.
On November 8 in 2015, a Khulna court handed down death penalty to prime accused Sharif and Mintu in the murder case.
The convicts then filed two separate appeals with the HC challenging their conviction handed down by the trial court.
On August 3 of the same year, Rakib’s former employer Sharif and Mintu stripped the boy naked, inserted a high-pressure air pump nozzle into his rectum and filled the abdomen with air, as a punishment for changing workplace.
Rakib’s intestines tore apart and lungs burst as air filled the abdomen, which left him dead. The killing of the 13-year-old sparked outrage all over the country then.
Family rejects verdict
Terming the HC verdict “unjust”, Rakib’s family members today expressed their dissatisfaction over the judgement.
“Now they (the convicts) will go to the Appellate Division and get released,” said Rakib’s mother Lucky Begum, who fears the family of the accused will take revenge on them.
“My daughter is growing up, I am worried of her safety,” Lucky said.
“They have been threatening us since the lower court verdict,” said Nur Alam, father of the victim.
Source: The Daily Star
