PMO, ASK seek details of public humiliation of Sherpur housewife

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has sought from the local police details of stripping naked a young housewife during an arbitration at Shapmari village in Sherpur Sadar upazila. The PMO and different rights groups and non-government organisations (NGO), including Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), have sought the details of the incident from Sadar Police Station following the reports of the nasty incident were published in different national daily newspapers which triggered a widespread outcry. Various human rights bodies and cross-section of people expressed their condemnation over the incident and demanded exemplary punishment of the offenders. The victim, a young housewife, went to her father’s house at Shapmari from her husband’s house at nearby Badapara village after her husband, who works at a washing company in Chittagong, left for his workplace on July 19, the last day of the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday. Earlier, the victim’s brother Azmir Hossain, a garment worker, had an altercation with his wife Shyamoly Begum over his job which had gone to the arbitration on July 17 (Friday). The victim had an altercation with Shyamoly Begum’s cousin Joynal Abedin Hasi after she sided with her brother at the arbitration. At one stage, Hasi and his associates Mintu, Bhutto and Mithun stripped off her clothes and dragged her around in front of the villagers present at the arbitration. When contacted, officer-in-charge (OC) of Sadar Police Station M Mazharul Karim confirmed the incident. He said an attempted rape case was registered against four people on Monday as per the written ejahar of the victim. The accused are Joynal Abedin Hasi, 52, son of Ayez Uddin of Shapmari village; Bhutto Miah, 30, son of Majnu Miah; Mintu Miah, 20, and Mithun Miah, 25, sons of Nawab Ali of Banderbari area in Jamalpur Sadar upazila. The OC said they continued their drive to arrest the culprits as they went into hiding after the incident. Mazharul Karim said he received phone calls from the PMO and Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) seeking details of the incident, according to a news agency.

- mbz