Death, Life Terms in Sylhet MC College Rape Case

All eight accused of MC College gang rape case were produced in court today (14 July) under tight security.

A tribunal in Sylhet on Tuesday sentenced one man to death and three others to life imprisonment for the 2020 gang rape of a young woman in a dormitory at Sylhet MC College.

The death-row convict is Saifur Rahman, while Shah Mahbubur Rahman Rony, Tarekul Islam and Arjun Lashkar were sentenced to life imprisonment. All four were former activists of the now-banned Chhatra League.

The verdict was delivered by Sylhet Speedy Trial Tribunal Judge Swapan Kumar Sarkar.

The tribunal also acquitted four other accused—Ainuddin alias Ainul, Misbaul Islam alias Rajon, Rabiul and Mahfuzur Rahman—after finding insufficient evidence against them.

The eight accused were produced before the court under tight security ahead of the verdict.

According to the prosecution, the victim, then aged 20, and her husband visited the Shahjalal shrine area on 25 September 2020. While returning home, they stopped near MC College in the Tilagarh area.

A group of assailants allegedly held the couple hostage, took them to the college dormitory, tied up the husband and gang-raped the woman.

The attackers later assaulted the couple and fled after taking their cash, mobile phones and private car.

A case was filed with Shahparan Police Station against eight accused.

Police later raided the dormitory, recovered weapons and arrested all eight accused within three days of the incident after they went into hiding.

According to the prosecution, the accused gave confessional statements before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Police submitted the charge sheet on 3 December 2020, and the college authorities subsequently expelled all the accused.