A Cumilla court has sentenced three people to death and another to life in prison for the kidnapping and murder of a five-year-old child from Muradnagar.

Special Sessions Judge Morium-Mun-Monjuri of the Cumilla Public Security Crime Suppression Tribunal delivered the verdict on Thursday, said state lawyer Md Mobarak Hossain.

The death row convicts are Moinal Hossain, Nazmul Hassan, and Shahin Khan, all from Borarchar village in Muradnagar.

Rabiul Hassan, another resident of the same area, was sentenced to life in prison.

The suspects were in court to hear the verdict.

The victim, 5-year-old Abdur Rahman, was kidnapped from his home in Gangatia village on the night of Feb 21, 2021, by his uncle Nazmul Hassan and his accomplices, said lawyer Mobarak Hossain, citing the case documents.

They then demanded a ransom of Tk 3 lakh from Faruk Mia, the boy’s father and an expatriate working in Oman.

Faruk filed a case against unnamed individuals at the Muradnagar Police Station over the incident.

Sub Inspector Hamidul Islam was assigned to investigate the incident.

With the use of information technology, police arrested the suspects 38 days after the kidnapping. They also recovered the body of the boy, who had been strangled to death and buried.

The family of the victim and local residents have thanked the court for its verdict.

Shahinur Begum, his mother, said, “I will not get my son back, but my son’s soul will be at peace thanks to this verdict. We want the court to carry out this verdict quickly.”