Two youths sentenced to life imprisonment in Soni murder
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Soni was hacked to death in 2022
Two youths have been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Soni, 16, in 2022 on Monday.
The accused were sentenced to another 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for abducting Soni before killing him.
Rajshahi Speedy Trial Tribunal judge Md Mahiduzzaman announced the verdict in the afternoon.
The convicts are Md Moin alias Ahnaf, 20, son of Md Mamun, and Moin's friend Habiba Kumkum Saba alias Oishi, 19, of Rajshahi metropolis.
While Moin's mother and uncle were also accused in the case, the court acquitted them due to lack of evidence. Moin's mother, Bithi Khatun, holds the position of Sports Affairs Secretary of Rajshahi metropolitan Mohila Dal.
The victim, Soni, is the son of Rajshahi district Motor Workers Union Vice President Rafiqul Islam Pakhi.
On the night of July 3, 2022, he was taken from Rajshahi Medical College Hospital area to Hetemkhan Sabzipara area, where he was hacked to death. The father filed a case against nine people, including Oishi.
After the incident, Mohila Dal leader Bithi fled with her son Moin and Oishi. RAB-5 arrested the three from Pratap village of Rajarhat upazila of Kurigram on the night of July 8, 2022. Subsequently, the police filed a charge sheet against the nine, with five of them being minors.
The lawyer of the state side of the court, Advocate Entazul Haque Babu, mentioned that the trial of the five minors under the Children's Act is ongoing in the women and children's court.
The trial of the four adults concluded in the speedy trial tribunal, where the main accused Moin and his friend Oishi were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and an additional 10 years for kidnapping.
The court observed that the two convicts had committed crimes worthy of the death penalty, but due to their young age, they were sentenced to imprisonment instead. While the verdict was not completely satisfying for the lawyer, considering the brutal nature of the crime and the victim's age, he expressed his acceptance of the court's decision.