Magura girl dies: Nation engulfed by grief and anger
After an agonising eight-day struggle for life, the eight-year-old Magura girl succumbed to her injuries yesterday, leaving the nation in mourning.
The girl, who was choked and allegedly raped, breathed her last around 1:00pm at Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka, the army announced.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Protests erupted in Magura as an army helicopter carrying the girl's body landed at the local stadium around 6:00pm. At one stage, the protesters set fire to the accused's house in Sadar upazila.
Aiyub Ali, officer-in-charge of Magura Sadar Police Station, said the law enforcers struggled to bring the situation under control. The atmosphere grew sombre as the body reached Nomani Maidan for funeral prayers, he added.
Thousands thronged the Maidan for the girl's namaz-e-janaza before she was laid to rest at 7:30pm.
Earlier, her mother, sobbing inconsolably at the CMH, said, "I thought my daughter would survive. If she had made it through, I would never have let her go anywhere alone again."
"I am taking my girl home," she said, adding that she wants to see the perpetrators meted out the highest punishment.
The girl's death touched off a wave of outrage in Dhaka and other parts of the country, as reports of children being raped continued to come from different parts of the country -- a grim reminder of the persistent threat to women and children's safety.
Netizens flooded social media with posts expressing both sorrow and anger. One of them, writer Sohel R Rana, shared a photo of the victim's crying sister on Facebook.
He wrote, "Today, when the girl was crying and saying, 'My sister, who will I talk to now?' I couldn't bear this! As an ordinary citizen of the country, I can only say that I demand justice. I demand severe punishment for this brutality. No ifs or buts. Full stop!"
Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus expressed deep sorrow and instructed the authorities to bring the culprits to justice without delay.
Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter, along with the girl's mother, accompanied the body on the helicopter to Magura.
"The state and the government are treating this with utmost importance. The rape of such a young girl is unimaginable and unacceptable," Farida told reporters.
Earlier in the afternoon, the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate said the girl could not be saved despite advanced medical care and the best efforts of specialist doctors.
In a statement, the ISPR said the child, who was transferred to the CMH in a critical condition on March 8, suffered three cardiac arrests in the morning. While doctors managed to stabilise her after the first two, she did not regain a pulse after the third.
The Bangladesh Army extended its condolences to the bereaved family and pledged to stand by them in their time of need, the ISPR said.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also called for exemplary punishment to those responsible. "The way the child left us, leaving us in sorrow and shame, is beyond words," he said in the press release.
According to a case filed by her mother on March 8, the third-grader was raped while visiting her elder sister's house in Magura town between the night of March 5 and the morning of March 6.
Her sister's husband, his parents and brother were arrested and placed on remand.
Her mother yesterday alleged that her elder daughter, who is 14 years old, was also beaten up severely on the night of March 5. She was then confined to a separate room.
When the younger sister threatened to inform her parents about the assault on her elder sister, that is when the perpetrators carried out the brutal torture, the mother alleged.
GRIEF AND ANGER
The village in Magura was in mourning as the news of the child's death spread at noon. Ohidur Rahman, a villager, said, "We are speechless. I have just one thing to say: complete the trial as soon as possible and ensure the hanging of the rapist."
The girl's father, a person with disability, was numb with grief.
A relative said, "We could not save her despite all our efforts. Now, all we want is the maximum punishment for the criminals as soon as possible."
Magura District Bar Association General Secretary Shahed Hasan said the lawyers decided not to provide any legal assistance to those accused in the case.
District Mahila Parishad General Secretary Laboni Zaman echoed similar sentiments and promised to stand by the child's family until the trial is completed.
National Citizen Party leaders Hasnat Abdullah and Sarjis Alam, and Khelafat Majlish Amir Mamunul Haque also visited Magura.
"It's a shame for entire Bangladesh. We, the nation, apologise to our sister," said Sarjis. "We have to ensure exemplary punishment to those responsible within the 90-day time frame."
A gayebana janaza (an absentee funeral) for the girl was held at 7:30pm at Dhaka University's VC Chattar, organised by the Dharshan Birodhi Mancha. Another such funeral was held at Jagannath University.
Following the funeral, the protesters marched to the Raju Bhaskarjo, where female college and university students delivered speeches.
They urged the public to stand in solidarity with the Mancha's five-point demand and support the platform in pressuring the government to expedite justice for rape victims.
Demonstrators of another platform, Bangladesh Against Rape and Abuse, brought out a torch procession on the campus.
Many protesters stressed that the government should refrain from making populist decisions and instead focus on reforming the laws related to women and children's safety for a permanent solution.
They also called for clarifying the legal definitions of rape, which they say are currently ambiguous.
The protesters said Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury will have to step down if he fails to ensure justice for rape victims and improve women's security.
In a statement, the National Citizen Party said, "The torture inflicted on the child and her subsequent death is a severe disgrace to our state and societal systems."
It called on the interim government to restore citizens' trust by ensuring justice through a proper investigation into incidents of rape and abuse.
Comments