Madrasa head, fifteen others on death row for burning teen girl alive

School headmaster and main suspect Siraj Ud Doula (centre) is escorted as he leaves the court following a verdict regarding the murder of a 18-year-old girl student, in Feni. Pic/AFP

Dhaka: Sixteen people, including the head of a madrasa, were sentenced to death by a Bangladeshi court on Thursday for burning alive a teenage girl student for refusing to withdraw a sexual harassment complaint against him.

The gruesome murder took place in April when a gang of killers poured kerosene over 18-year-old Nusrat Jahan Rafi and set her on fire on the roof of the madrasa in the southeastern Feni, some 162 kms outside the capital Dhaka.

"They (convicts) will be hanged by neck until their death," Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Mamunur Rashid pronounced the judgment. The incident had sparked nationwide public outrage and mass demonstrations across Bangladesh with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ordering expedited investigation in the quickest possible time.

She also met Rafi's family and vowed to bring the killers to justice. Police earlier said their investigation revealed that the mardrasa's principal Siraj Ud Doula, who was already in jail on sexual harassment charges, ordered his cohorts to kill Rafi if she refused to withdraw the allegation.

Police said in their chargesheet the murder was carried out at the principal's order. The judge simultaneously fined all the convicts 1 lakh taka ($1,181) each to be given to Rafi's family. The convicts include two woman, a local leader of the ruling Awami League and a member of the madrasa governing committee.

1l taka
Amount each of the convicts has to pay as fine

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