Jui was left to bleed for 3 hours after husband chopped off her hand
Hawa Akhter Jui was left to bleed for nearly three hours after her husband hacked off her right hand with a machete, and dumped the severed hand into a dustbin on December 4.
“Instead of taking me to a hospital, my husband Rafiqul Islam and his sister Naima Begum remained busy mopping up the blood on the floor and the bed. Later, Rafiq went out of the house to dump the detached hand into a dustbin” Jui told The Daily Star yesterday at her parents’ house in Narsingdi.
“On my repeated requests, they took me to the hospital by an auto-rickshaw at about 11:00am, nearly three hours after the incident. On the way to hospital, they threatened to throw me out of the vehicle, if I told the story to anyone,” said Jui, an HSC second-year student of Narsingdi College.
Jui was taken to nearby Bangladesh Medical College Hospital from her sister-in-law’s house in the capital’s cantonment area.
When the doctors asked how her hand got cut off, Rafiq and his sister told them that she lost it in an accident. But the doctors did not believe it, and kept on pressing for the truth.
“Then I recounted to them the incident, and requested a doctor to call my parents,” she said.
Following a call from the physician, Jui’s father, her maternal uncle and a cousin rushed to the hospital, and later took her to Pangu Hospital in the afternoon.
Jui’s husband Rafiq, an expatriate worker in the UAE, accompanied them to Pangu Hospital.
When doctors at Pangu hospital asked Rafiq about the detached hand for joining it to the arm, he told them that physicians at Bangladesh Medical College Hospital had cut off her hand, said Jui’s father Yunus Mia.
“As we and the doctors repeatedly requested him to tell the truth, Rafiq finally said he dumped the severed hand into a dustbin”, Yunus said.
They along with Rafiq recovered four fingers of Jui’s hand from the dustbin, but could not find the other finger, he said.
When they returned to the hospital with the four fingers, the doctors told them that all cells of the fingers had become inactive, and it was too late to attach them to the limb.
Mohammad Salauddin, officer-in-charge of the Cantonment Police Station, said they had preserved the fingers as proof of the crime, adding that Rafiq is currently in jail.
Jui and her father alleged that Rafiq’s sister Naima and his brother-in-law Corporal Shafiqul Islam were involved in the crime and had been aware of Rafiq’s plot to hack off Jui’s hand.
“They had asked me to go to their house on December 1 when Rafiq was in Dubai. But Rafiq unexpectedly showed up there three days later,” said Jui.
“Rafiq’s sister and brother-in-law left the house minutes after Rafiq turned up there. Sensing trouble, I requested them not to leave us alone, but they ignored my call.”
“Rafiq had phoned me from Dubai on November 30, and said he had sent some gifts for me. He asked me to collect them from his sister’s house,” she said.
Rafiq’s sister and brother-in-law also asked Jui to collect the gifts from their house. “But when I went there on December 1, they said Rafiq had not sent any gifts. They asked me to stay there.”
Jui was brought to her parents’ house in Narsingdi from Dhaka on December 6. She is now receiving treatment at Narsingdi District Hospital.
Her father sought financial help from the government and people for proper treatment of his daughter, and for the legal battle that lies ahead.
Yunus said he tried to include the names of Rafiq’s sister and her husband Shafiqul in the case he filed with the Cantonment Police Station.
But police refused to include their names, and said the inclusion would make the case weak.
However, Salauddin, officer-in-charge of the police station, refuted the allegation, and said he recorded the case according to the statement of the victim’s family.
Rafiq’s brother-in-law Shafiqul also rebutted the allegations against him and his wife Naima. Shafiqul said he and his wife did not have any clue about Rafiq’s plot.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was around 8:00am.
Jui’s husband Rafiq took her into a room and locked her in.
“He told me that he would like to give me a surprise, and covered my eyes with my scarf. I could sense that he was angry with me, but I dared not protest,” Jui said.
“Then, he asked me why I continued my studies despite his objections.”
“I told him that I would sit for the HSC examination, and then quit studies. But he taped my mouth shut, and asked me to put my right hand on a table.”
“Suddenly, Rafiq said he would put an end to my studies, and then hacked off my hand.”
As Jui started groaning in pain, Rafiq’s sister and brother-in-law broke into the room.
Jui said her husband had earlier told her that his parents did not like her studying.
She is still very upbeat about carrying on studies despite losing the right hand.
“I will try my best to continue studies. Despite my husband’s strong opposition, I continued studies with a desire to become a lawyer”, Jui said.
“I need help from the government and people to get justice and fulfil my dream.”
-With The Daily Star input
