As rape victim is over 40!

A housewife, raped allegedly by two neighbours at Chhatarpur village under Bishnapur union in Bijoynagar upazila on Tuesday, is undergoing treatment at Brahmanbaria Sadar Hospital.

Family members of the victim, 40, also mother of 12 children, said they went to Bijoynagar Police Station to file a case, but police said rape case cannot be filed if a woman is over 40.

“Instead of receiving the case, the OC phoned the local union parishad Chairman Jamal Uddin Bhuiyan to resolve the matter socially,” said Roman Mia, nephew of the victim.

The victim told journalists that she was returning home with Tk one lakh from her parents' house at Durgapur village in Akhaura upazila on Tuesday to send her son abroad.

“After getting down from an auto-rickshaw on a nearby road, I was walking towards my home alone through a village path around 11:00am when neighbours Nuru Mia, 35, and Osman Mia, 40, waylaid me at Shilbari More,” she said.

“They snatched away the money, tied my mouth and forcibly took me to a garden. They raped me there, leaving me senseless,” she said.

A relative while passing by found her lying unconscious and arranged sending her to Brahmanbaria Sadar Hospital.

“The victim was suffering from intense bleeding and acute pain. Sample has been collected for medical test,” said Smriti Rani Roy, in-charge of nurses at Gynaecology and Maternity ward of the hospital.

Bijoynagar OC Md Ali Arshad said, “I don't know about the victim's family members' coming to the police station as I was outside. I did not ask the UP chairman to resolve the matter. If anyone contacts us, we will provide legal support.”