A Sylhet court has sentenced Zakir Hossain, the main accused in the murder case of four-year-old Fahima Akhtar, to death and fined him Tk 500,000. Judge Abu Ubaida of the Sylhet Metropolitan Child Violence Suppression Tribunal delivered the verdict at about 11:30 a.m. on Thursday. Two other accused, Zainal Abedin and Md Abul Kalam, were acquitted after the allegations against them were not proven.

Sylhet Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court Public Prosecutor Advocate Badrul Islam Chowdhury confirmed the verdict. He said the court ordered that Zakir be executed by hanging. The judgment stated that the death sentence would be carried out subject to approval by the High Court.

According to case records, on May 7 Zakir, a neighbour, allegedly took Fahima from Sonatola village in Sylhet Sadar upazila to his home on the pretext of bringing cigarettes. The allegation says she was raped and strangled after losing consciousness. Her body was allegedly hidden in a suitcase for two days and later dumped in a pond in the Badaghat area. A murder case was filed at Jalalabad police station on May 8, and police submitted charges against Zakir and his two brothers 33 days later.