Death of Priyanka: Some questions unanswered
Durdana Ghias
The death of Sadia Nowshin Priyanka, a shining girl full of promises, is still shrouded in mystery.Priyanka, who was found dead on July 18 at her home, had just passed her SSC exam from Viqarunnissa Noon School with brilliant results. It is hard to believe for her parents that she is no more. Eleven days after her death the family members are still intrigued with unexplained questions. Although the autopsy report says she has committed suicide, apparently there is no reason for her at all to kill herself. "Just a few days ago she told me: Abbu, I'm very happy that I am going to get admitted to college. She got GPA-5 and was very studious. She had a desire to become a doctor and build a hospital at her village home in Mothbaria in Pirojpur. How can she commit suicide?" said her father Sultan Faruque, an accountant of BDR. "We have rejected the post mortem report. We have applied to the Ramna Police Station against the report on Wednesday [July 25], asking for another post mortem," he said. "Ramna Police Station has sent the application to the court on Thursday. There was an error in the report regarding the place where the body was buried [in Pathakata village of Mothbaria]," he added. Her parents were sitting in the drawing room with the many certificates that Priyanka got for her excellence in studies and cultural activities. "She bought a new dress from Mouchak market to wear it at the party arranged at Nandan Park for GPA-5 holders. She was ready to join the party. How can she commit suicide?" said her father. "When I got home with my son from school, we found the door closed from outside. If she commits suicide then how can she close the door from outside? We found her on the floor. If she hanged herself then why will she be on the floor?" said her tearful mother simmering with questions. "There was a georgette scarf around her neck. I untied the knots with the help of our landlady. She and I took her to Rashmono Hospital by a rickshaw. Then we took her to the Holy Family Hospital. The doctors told us to take her to Dhaka Medical College Hospital," she said. About the rumour on her father's having another wife, Sultan said: "I work in defence force. How is it possible for me to marry second time without official records? I want to know who is behind this rumour." "We suspect Rintu [Zahidul Haque, Piryanka's maternal uncle] because he is a bad guy who used to shout at me and my wife when we protested his connections with unsocial elements," he said. "Around an hour after Priyanka's death he called up his elder brother Zakir and wanted to know about Piryanka. After that he went into hiding. He did not even come to our house after Priyanka's death," said Faruque. Rintu is an employee of Brac Bank. Before that he used to work at Zenith Company where he lost his job for pilfering money, he said. "We also suspect the guard because he said that no one had entered my house when we were out," he added. Sultan said the police are totally silent about the case saying that it is a suicide case. "They are taking no action to arrest the prime suspect Rintu." Qazi Mohammad Didarul Alam, sub-inspector of Ramna Police Station and investigating officer of the case, said: "The girl has committed suicide by hanging according to the post mortem report by the forensic department of Dhaka Medical College. The girl's father has claimed that it was a murder but that is his own opinion. We have nothing to say about that. Investigation is going on. Now we are waiting for the court order." Priyanka had been kidnapped when she was a class nine student, said her family members. During the abduction she was kept blindfolded in a dark room and she could not identify the abductors. She was later dropped at home by a woman who used to cook for the abductors. Rab-3 is assisting police in investigating this case. "We talked with her mother. But we cannot ignore the post mortem report, which says that it was a suicide and there was no external injury. So the case is contradicting," said an investigating officer of Rab-3. "We are suspecting that as she was abducted there can be a social pressure on her from her teachers and classmates, that may lead to suicide. The whole thing is very mysterious," he added. "We knew about the abduction case but we never treated her differently," said a teacher of Viqarunnissa School, seeking anonymity. According to the family members she had friends just like any other girl of her age. "She was very quiet and pious. She used to say prayers five times a day and recited Holy Quran," said one of her classmates. "After she was abducted we all her friends gave her lots of support in facing the social pressure. Some people made indecent comments after she came back to school, but no one said anything in front of her," she said. Priyanka died on July 18. Her father filed a case with Ramna Police Station on July 20.
|