Traders and businessmen in Old Dhaka’s Nawabpur area yesterday demanded capital punishment for the rapist and killer of Wari schoolgirl Samia Afrin Saima.
More than 300 people under the banner of Nawabpur Shop Owners’ Samity formed a human chain in the area, seeking justice for the seven-year-old.
Saima’s father Abdus Salam said, “As the accused has admitted to the crime, there is no reason to delay the trial process. He should be given exemplary punishment immediately.”
The mourning father, also a businessman, also urged parents to remain alert.
Chowdhury Asifur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Electrical Motor Pump Importers’ Association, sought Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s intervention in ensuring quick trial of child rapes and maximum punishment for rapists.
Speaking at the event, Azizur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Wari Police Station, said police will submit a charge sheet against the accused soon. He too hoped that justice will be served to the bereaved family.
Khandakar Monirul Haque, president of Nawabpur Shop Owners’ Samity, thanked law enforcers for arresting the perpetrator quickly and demanded speedy trial of the case.
Jailed Harun Or Rashid, the lone accused in the case filed over the rape and murder of Saima, confessed that he had killed her after rape on July 5 so that she cannot disclose his identity.
