UP chairman tortures woman at arbitration

A union parishad (UP) chairman and his men tortured a woman, blaming her for loose morals in Parbatipur upazila of the district on Saturday.
The incident took place at an arbitration held at the residence of Polashbari Union Parishad (UP) chairman Md Mofakharul Islam at Chakboali-Dhobakal village.
The victim is Saima Khatun, 34, daughter of late Shahadat Hossain, of Uttar Atrai village in the union.
Saima filed a case with Parbatipur Police Station on Sunday night, accusing UP Chairman Md Mofakharul Islam and his aides Monser, Sagor, Bakkar, Ashraful, Sultan and Basi.
All the accused, including the chairman, were granted bail by a court here yesterday.
Liakat Ali, a senior lawyer of Dinajpur, said police recorded the case under Sections 114, 143, 323, 354, 406, 420, and 506. “The case should have been recorded under the Women and Children Repression and Prevention Act' the lawyer added.  
Contacted, Officer in-Charge Nasir Uddin Mondol of Parbatipur Police Station said they received a complaint regarding the incident and registered a case. He then turned off his cellphone.  
 According to locals, Md Sagor 28, a grocery shop owner of Uttar Atrai village, borrowed Tk 67,000 from Saima at different times in the last two years.
As Sagor refused to pay back the money, Saima filed a complaint with UP Chairman Mofakharul Alam. On Wednesday, the Chairman called a meeting at the UP office to settle the issue, but Sagor did not turn up.
On Saturday, the chairman arranged an arbitration at his residence and heard from Sagor for an hour. He asked Saima to tell everything 'within two minutes'.
As Saima protested it, the chairman kicked her in presence of local people.
'The chairman also slapped me, grabbed my hair and pulled me out of the arbitration' Saima said, adding that everything happened in public.
 Witnesses alleged that the chairman and his aids beat up Saima, blaming her for loose morals.
Refuting the allegations, UP Chairman Mofakharul Islam said the woman filed the case only to harass him.