Feni madrasa girl dies

The madrasa student from Feni, who was set on fire on April 6, succumbed to her injuries at Dhaka Medical College Hospital today.

“She died around 9:30pm,” Dr Samanta Lal Sen, chief coordinator of National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery of the DMCH, told The Daily Star.

The body will be kept at the DMCH mortuary, from where it will be sent to the hospital morgue for autopsy tomorrow morning, said Dr Samanta Lal Sen.

The girl was set on fire allegedly for refusing to withdraw a case filed against Maulana Siraj Ud Doula, principal of Sonagazi Islamia Senior Fazil Madrasa, for sexually harassing her late last month. 

The victim, who suffered 75 percent burns to her body, was put on life support at the burn unit of the DMCH on Monday noon as her condition deteriorated.

On April 6, the 18-year-old student went to the madrasa to take an Alim examination, doctors at the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) told The Daily Star earlier quoting the victim.

At one stage, she was taken to the roof of the madrasa’s three-storey administrative building. She saw four people wearing veils, burqa and hand gloves there.

Talking to doctors on Sunday, she said they had asked her to withdraw the case, filed against madrasa Principal Maulana Siraj Ud Doula, over sexually harassing her late last month. They also pressed her to give a statement saying that the allegation was false.

As she refused to comply, they tied her hands with a scarf, poured something on her body and asked her to run. She ran away, with her body on fire, according to her statement.

On March 27, the victim’s mother filed a case with Sonagazi Police Station, accusing the madrasa principal of sexually harassing her daughter.

Sonagazi police picked up Siraj on the same day and is now behind bars in the case.

Later, another case was filed with Sonagazi Police Station by the victim’s brother on Monday over the arson attack on the madrasa student.

Meanwhile, three suspects including the main suspect Siraj were placed on remand by a Feni court today.