Death Sentence Issued for 16 People Accused of Setting Fire to Girl in Bangladesh

16 individuals who burned a Bangladeshi schoolgirl alive on the school’s rooftop have been sentenced to death. The girl had filed a complaint against the school principal for sexual harassment before her murder.

“Nusrat Jahan, 19, who had reported sexual harassment by the principal of a religious school to police, was set on fire at the instigation of several classmates and on the orders of the principal.” In late March this year, this news received extensive media coverage.

17 people were arrested in connection with the incident, at least five of whom were students at the same school. One of them confessed that the school principal ordered the burning of Nusrat Jahan.

Now 16 of the accused have been sentenced to death. Among these convicts is the school principal; the same person who ordered the act. The victim had previously filed a complaint against the school principal for sexual harassment.

On the day of the incident, when Nusrat Jahan entered the school for her final exam, a group of veiled men surrounded her and took her to the school’s rooftop. There, they asked her to sign a document in which Nusrat would withdraw her complaint against the school principal for sexual harassment.

When Nusrat refused to sign the document, they tied her hands, feet, and mouth, poured gasoline on her, and set her on fire. Nusrat died in the hospital a few days later, but before her death, she was able to testify against those who committed the act, although these individuals had staged the scene to make it appear as a suicide.

This heinous murder threw Bangladesh into turmoil. In this Muslim country, people rarely file complaints against harassers and sexual abusers. The investigation into Nusrat Jahan’s murder case was conducted quickly. Normally, such cases take more than a year to investigate.

Now a court in Feni city in southeastern Bangladesh, after seven months of examining the case, has issued a death sentence for 16 of the accused. The prosecutor said he is satisfied with the issuance of this sentence. He also said: “This sentence proves that all crimes in Bangladesh are punished.”

Source: DW