Family members of the nine-month old baby who was raped in Fatickchhari upazila of Chattogram are being shunned by locals ever since some media houses published the family’s identity.

The plaintiff of the case filed over the incident, a maternal uncle of the victim, told The Daily Star that locals were treating them as if they were the offenders.

“People in my area are treating us as if we committed an offence...as if we are responsible for the incident. We expected sympathy from them, instead we are getting the opposite from many,” he said.

He said some people were also making fun of the issue.

“Some of them asked me why we chose to be related to such a family,” he said, adding, “People in tea stalls are gossiping about the matter.”

“We have a deep wound in our hearts...we do not even know whether my niece will survive. It is heart-wrenching to see my niece on the hospital bed struggling with such pain,” he said, trying to hold back tears.

The nine-month-old was raped allegedly by her paternal uncle on Tuesday afternoon in their house in the upazila’s East Farhadabad village.

She is undergoing treatment in Chattogram Medical College Hospital.

The father of the victim is a fish trader. Him, his wife and mother, live in the house with three of his brothers.

“My sister married the eldest son of the family some two years ago and the victim is their only child,” said the plaintiff, adding, “Of the five brothers, two are married and the accused is the third eldest sibling.”

During the day of the incident, most of the family members had gone to a clinic in the port city to admit the wife of the second eldest brother as she was expecting a child.

“My sister and the accused were in the house at that time.

“The accused, 26, a mason, was taking care of the baby while my sister was cooking in the kitchen,” he said.

At one point, hearing the child’s screams, the mother rushed to the baby. The accused fled as soon as he saw her, he said.

According to the plaintiff, the accused had a history of harassing girls. The Daily Star could not independently verify this.

The plaintiff also said he now was concerned for his own safety.

“I have been asked by family members of the accused why I filed the case instead of the victim’s father,” he said.

“I’ve heard that police detained the mother of the accused for questioning and her sons are holding me responsible for that,” he added.

“Now I am concerned for my safety. I filed the case to get justice for my niece.”

Meanwhile, police are yet to arrest the accused.

Contacted, Sanjay Kumar Ghosh, investigation officer of the case, said they were conducting raids in different areas but had not nabbed the fugitive yet.

“People in the area also want us to arrest him...they said they would inform us if they saw him in the area,” he said.

Nur-e-Alam Mina, superintendent of police in Chattogram, said, “We are giving our best efforts in searching for the accused but as he has fled and switched off his mobile phone, our task has become difficult.

“We have engaged a source to trace him.”