DU teacher describes husband’s assault on her
“He pushed his fingers into my eyes,” a battered wife told newsmen yesterday how her sadistic husband made her suffer beyond belief, “And dragged me by my hair on the floor.”
Rumana Manjur was talking to the reporters at the city’s LabAid Hospital for the first time since she was injured in the torture at her father’s Dhanmondi residence on June 5.
Rumana, an assistant professor of Dhaka University, added the husband at one stage repeatedly gnawed her nose, face and throat.
Now undergoing treatment at LabAid, she is set to leave for India in a day or two for better treatment.
Her father Manjur Hossain told The Daily Star that they will leave the capital on completion of visa procedure.
Meanwhile, doctors have confirmed that Rumana’s left eye has been completely damaged.
“Doctors are now trying to save the other eye,” said Manjur, a retired army officer.
Rumana, teacher of international relations department, was doing Master of Science (MS) in Colombia University, Canada, on Fulbright Scholarship, her father said.
Rumana claimed her husband Syeed Hasan Sumon frequently assaulted her during their 10-year conjugal life. He beat her up several times on her return from Canada on May 12.
The man was furious when she decided to continue her study in Canada. “But I tolerated all sorts of torture considering the future of my only daughter,” she said.
Before fleeing, Sumon had threatened Rumana with throwing acid or shooting her if she takes legal action, she said.
Sumon, a graduate from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), has been living at his father-in-law’s house since Rumana got pregnant, said Zobaida Nasreen, a teacher of DU anthropology department and a friend of Rumana.
Sumon used to quarrel with his wife over trifles and at times beat her up, said another DU teacher preferring anonymity. But Rumana did not tell her parents about her torment as she married him without their consent.
Sumon, former student of Faujdarhat Cadet College, has never engaged himself in any kind of job or business, the teacher added.
However, Rumana’s family members have demanded quick arrest and exemplary punishment of Sumon who went into hiding after a case was filed against him with Dhanmondi Police Station on June 6.
They alleged Sumon’s cousin Kamal Uddin, a public prosecutor of Chittagong, is lobbying to protect the accused.
Contacted over the phone, Kamal told The Daily Star he is not in good terms with Sumon although they are relatives.
Sub-Inspector Mokbul Hossain, investigation officer of the case, said police have raided the accused’s Paribagh residence in the city and would continue the hunt.
Also yesterday, Dhaka University Teachers’ Association condemned the brutal attack on Rumana.
In a press release, the association leaders expressed grave concern as the accused has not been arrested even in a week of the incident.
They urged the university administration as well as the government to take steps ensuring the victim gets proper treatment.
-With The Daily Star input
