Documents violence · sexual violence — written to inform, not to shock.
Yasmin Akhter was a 14-year-old girl working as a domestic helper in Dhaka. On 24 August 1995, while traveling back to her hometown in Dinajpur, she boarded the wrong bus and became lost. Three members of the Bangladesh Police, later identified as Moinul Hoque, Abdus Sattar, and Amrita Lal, offered her a lift in a police van. Instead of taking her home, the officers drove her to a secluded location where she was gang raped and strangled to death. Her body was discarded by the roadside and discovered the following day.
News of the crime spread after Manoranjan Shill Gopal, a local member of parliament, informed Matiur Rahman, editor of the local newspaper The Daily Uttarbangla, that police had raped and killed a girl. Rahman confirmed the victim's identity on 26 August and sought to publish the story despite police warnings not to do so. Police cut electricity to the newspaper's office in an apparent attempt to prevent publication, but Rahman borrowed power from a neighbor to print the news. The report triggered mass protests; the local police station was attacked and looted, and authorities declared a curfew enforced by Bangladesh Rifles personnel. During the unrest, police fired on protesters, killing seven people and injuring approximately 300 others.
The case proceeded to trial after significant resistance from police, who initially refused to register it, and required pressure from women's rights activists and civil society groups. Moinul Hoque and Abdus Sattar were arrested in 1997 and were subsequently tried and convicted of rape and murder, receiving death sentences. Amrita Lal was arrested years after the initial verdict and also received a death sentence. Separately, five policemen — including the then police superintendent of Dinajpur and the officer in charge of the local police station — along with the doctor who conducted the first autopsy on the victim, were acquitted of charges related to destroying evidence during the investigation.
Hoque and Sattar were executed by hanging on 1 September 2004 at Rangpur Central Jail. Lal's clemency requests were later denied, and he was executed by hanging at Rangpur on 29 September 2004; he reportedly expressed remorse to the victim's family before his execution.
The case left a lasting mark on Bangladesh, with 24 August now marked as Resistance Day against Repression of Women. In 2024, The Daily Star reported that a film based on the case, titled Ami Yasmin Bolchi and starring Bidya Sinha Saha Mim, had been forced to halt production due to pressure from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
Key facts
- Victims
- Yasmin Akhter
- Date
- 1995
- Location
- Dinajpur, Bangladesh
- Case status
- solved
Case timeline
1995-08-24
Yasmin Akhter, 14, is offered a ride by three Bangladesh Police officers while traveling to Dinajpur; she is gang raped and strangled to death, and her body is left by the roadside.
1995-08-25
Local MP Manoranjan Shill Gopal informs newspaper editor Matiur Rahman that police had raped and killed a girl.
1995-08-26
Rahman learns the victim's identity and, despite police warnings and a cut electricity supply, publishes the news using borrowed power, triggering mass protests, a police station attack, and a curfew during which police killed seven protesters and injured about 300.
1997
Police officers Moinul Hoque and Abdus Sattar are arrested in connection with the case.
2004-09-01
Moinul Hoque and Abdus Sattar are executed by hanging at Rangpur Central Jail.
2004-09-29
Amrita Lal is executed by hanging at Rangpur after his clemency requests are denied.
2024
The Daily Star reports that a film about the case, Ami Yasmin Bolchi, ceased production due to pressure from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
Best coverage
No approved coverage links are attached yet.
People
Yasmin Akhter
VICTIM14-year-old domestic helper who was gang raped and murdered by three police officers in 1995.
citation on file
Abdus Sattar
CONVICTEDBangladesh Police officer convicted of rape and murder; sentenced to death and executed by hanging on 1 September 2004.
citation on file
Amrita Lal
CONVICTEDBangladesh Police officer convicted of rape and murder; arrested years after the initial verdict, sentenced to death, and executed by hanging on 29 September 2004.
citation on file
Moinul Hoque
CONVICTEDBangladesh Police officer convicted of rape and murder; sentenced to death and executed by hanging on 1 September 2004.
citation on file
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- In 1995, 14-year-old domestic helper Yasmin Akhter was gang raped and murdered by three Bangladesh Police officers who had offered her a ride home in Dinajpur, sparking deadly mass protests and a landmark trial that ended in the execution of all three convicted officers.
- Where did the murder happen?
- Dinajpur, Bangladesh.
- Who was convicted?
- Abdus Sattar (Bangladesh Police officer convicted of rape and murder; sentenced to death and executed by hanging on 1 September 2004.), Amrita Lal (Bangladesh Police officer convicted of rape and murder; arrested years after the initial verdict, sentenced to death, and executed by hanging on 29 September 2004.), and Moinul Hoque (Bangladesh Police officer convicted of rape and murder; sentenced to death and executed by hanging on 1 September 2004.).
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: solved.
Sources
- Murder of Yasmin Akhterwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
- Contemporaneous coverage — BBC Newsnews · BBC News · 2026-07-07
- Contemporaneous coverage — thedailystar.netnews · thedailystar.net · 2026-07-07
