Bogra court sentences five to death for 2018 murder of eight-year-old boy

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A court in Bogura has sentenced five men to death for the 2018 abduction and murder of eight-year-old Rifat Hossain. Judge Mohammad Anwarul Haque of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-1 delivered the verdict on Sunday, concluding a long-standing legal battle over the gruesome killing that occurred in the Shahjahanpur upazila.

The condemned individuals have been identified as Abul Kalam Azad, Sagar Hossain, Selim Islam, Mehedi Hasan, and Raju Islam, all residents of Khadash village. While three of the convicted men were present in the courtroom to hear the sentence, Sagar Hossain and Selim Islam remain at large, having previously secured bail from the High Court. A sixth accused, Masud Rana, was acquitted from the proceedings following his death during the trial.

In the same ruling, the court sentenced five other individuals—Sajib Hasan, Mofizul Islam, Zahid Hasan, Borhan Ali, and Bayezid Hossain—to 10 years in prison. Although these five are now adults, the court granted them leniency as they were minors at the time the crime was committed.

The case dates back to July 15, 2018, when young Rifat, the son of expatriate Enamul Haque, went missing. Following an extensive search, the boy’s body was recovered three days later beneath a bridge over the Bhadravati River in the neighboring Poalgacha village. Enamul Haque subsequently filed a murder case at the Shahjahanpur police station.

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Investigators revealed that the motive for the crime was linked to extortion. Abul Kalam Azad, a neighbor, had been repeatedly demanding money from Enamul Haque following his return from abroad. On the day of the murder, Azad had requested a loan of 100,000 taka shortly before the boy disappeared.

Public Prosecutor Mohammad Ali Asgar noted that the judicial process relied heavily on strong evidentiary support, including confessional statements made by 11 suspects under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. These confessions detailed how the group abducted and subsequently murdered the child before attempting to conceal the body. The court conducted the trial under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, ensuring accountability for both the murder and the efforts to dispose of the evidence.