A schoolgirl reportedly committed suicide in Dinajpur on Saturday after being harassed by a neighbour.
The family said Shabnoor, 15, daughter of Aminul Islam, a resident of Farakkabad at Birol, had committed suicide after being harassed by Rabiul Islam, a resident of the village. She was a Class V student of the Farakkabad BRAC Primary School.
In another incident in Munshiganj, the police arrested the sister of a boy accused of harassing girls at Panhatta in the district headquarters on Saturday morning.
People from all walks of life, meanwhile, rallied in Kurigram demanding arrest and punishment of the people who killed Abdus Sobhan, 75, a resident of Nalea at Bhurungamari, after he protested at the harassment of his grand-daughter on Wednesday.
The New Age correspondent in Dinajpur said Shabnoor’s uncle Majedur Rahman said Rabiul used to harass Shabnoor on her way to and from school and in other times. Rabiul had also several times proposed that Shabnoor should love him, he said.
On Friday, members of Rabiul’s family assaulted the members of Shabnoor’s family when they went to Rabiul’s house to lodge a complaint.
‘Coming back from the place, we found her hanging from the ceiling with a scarf,’ Majedur said.
Majedur filed a case with the Birol police against Rabiul. The police station’s officer-in-charge, Haridas Mohanto, said an unnatural death case had been filed. The investigation officer, subinspector Jalilur Rahman, visited the spot.
In Munshiganj, the New Age correspondent said, the police arrested Dolly Akter 20, sister of Babul Mollah, accused of harassing a girl, in the district headquarters on Saturday morning in a case filed by the family of the girl.
According to the case, Babul used to harass a first-year girl student of Government Haraganga Collage.
The girl’s family lodged a complaint with Babul’s family on Thursday in this connection. After the complaint had been lodged, Babul went to the girl’s house and assaulted the girl and tried to drag her out of the house.
The victim’s uncle Touhiduddin Dipu filed a case on Friday against Babul with the Munshiganj police on charge of harassing his nephew. Dolly Akter was also named as accused in the case.
The police station’s officer-in-charge, Sultan Ahmed, said Dolly was produced n court which remanded her in custody. ‘We are trying to arrest Babul.’
The correspondent in Kurigram said students, teachers and guardians of different educational institutions of Burungamari had formed a human chain in the Bhurungamari-Jamtola crossing about 11:00am on Saturday and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal brought out a procession protesting at the killing of Abdus Sobhan.
Abdus Sobhan, 75, was killed by Ripon, 24, and Mostafa, 20, as Sobhan had protest at the harassment of his grand-daughter.
The Bhurungamari police officer-in-charge, Abdur Razzak, said they had so far arrested Mostafa’s father Noor Islam and Ripon’s mother Hazera Khatun in this connection.
A schoolgirl on November 1 reportedly committed suicide after a young neighbour abducted her and forcibly put vermilion on her forehead, a Hindu rite for wedding, in a village bordering on Bogra and Sirajganj.
Rights Ain O Salish Kendra in its report on October 2 said at least 25 women had committed suicide in the first nine months of 2010 over incidents of harassment and 17 others, including a woman, were killed over protests at harassment of girls and women.
