Magura child rape: Prime accused put on 7-day remand in midnight hearing

A Magura court on Monday midnight placed the main accused in a case over the rape of an 8-year old child on a 7-day remand and three others on a 5-day remand each. 

Those remanded are prime accused Hitu Sheikh, 50, father-in-law of the victim’s elder sister, his wife Zayeda Khatun, and their two sons- Sajib Sheikh and Ratul Sheikh, of Nijnanduali village in Magura’s Sadar upazila.

Police could not produce the accused in the child rape case before the court on Sunday due to security concerns, leading to a midnight hearing for their remand. 

Chief Judicial Magistrate Abdul Matin of Magura passed the order after hearing the remand petition.

The accused were not produced before the court in the day as students and locals staged a protest outside the Magura court demanding the death penalty for the rapists within 24 hours that raised security concerns and delayed the remand hearing, said Magura Sadar thana Officer-in-Charge Aiyub Hossain.

All four were already in custody and were shown arrested after the case was filed.

According to the case statement, Hitu Sheikh raped the child while the other accused assisted him.

The case details further revealed that Hitu Sheikh had been making inappropriate proposal to his elder daughter-in-law since her marriage to Sajib four months ago.

Despite the family’s awareness of the situation, no action was taken to address it.

The incident occurred when the victim visited her sister’s in-laws’ house at Nijnanduali village in Magura’s Sadar upazila.

She went to bed with her sister at night, but in the dead of night, her sister found her missing and began searching for her.

After a frantic search, the girl was found unconscious a few yards away from the house.

She was initially admitted to Magura General Hospital and later transferred to Faridpur Medical College Hospital as her condition deteriorated. On Thursday, she was moved to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) before being shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Dhaka.

Meanwhile, university students, including that of Dhaka University, staged demonstrations early Sunday on their respective campuses, demanding the death penalty of the accused.

Home Affairs Adviser Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury visited the girl at the CMH on Sunday and said the rapists will not be spared as the state is determined to ensure justice.