A tribunal in Sylhet on Tuesday sentenced one man to death and three others to life imprisonment in the widely discussed MC College hostel gang rape case, in which a newlywed woman was raped after her husband was held captive.

The court also acquitted four other accused, ruling that the charges against them were not proven. Both the convicted and acquitted individuals were members of the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League.

Judge Swapan Kumar Sarkar of the Sylhet Speedy Trial Tribunal delivered the verdict on Tuesday.

Public Prosecutor Abul Hossain said the court reached its decision based on the testimony of 25 witnesses and the evidence presented during the trial.

The tribunal sentenced Saifur Rahman to death under Section 9(3) of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act. He is the son of Md Tahid Mia of Chandaipara village in Balaganj upazila of Sylhet.

The court also sentenced Shah Mahbubur Rahman alias Rony, Tarekul Islam alias Tarek, and Arjun Laskar to life imprisonment and fined each Tk100,000. They were additionally sentenced to 14 years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk50,000 each under another provision of the law. However, the court ordered that both sentences would run concurrently.

Meanwhile, Robiul Hasan, Mahfuz Rahman Masum, Md Ainuddin, and Misbaul Islam were acquitted as the allegations against them could not be proved.

Before announcing the verdict, the judge read out observations from the 91-page judgment.

On 8 July, after hearing the final arguments from the defence, the tribunal fixed 14 July for delivering the verdict.

According to court sources, after the case was transferred to the Speedy Trial Tribunal, 25 witnesses testified, including the victim and her husband, the judicial magistrate who recorded the confessional statements of the accused, the investigating officer, an MC College professor and a forensic physician from Osmani Medical College Hospital.

The incident took place on the night of 25 September 2020, when the newlywed woman was gang raped inside the MC College hostel after her husband was confined.

The victim’s husband later filed a case with Shah Paran Police Station, naming eight accused. All eight were arrested within three days in a joint operation by police and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).