Sonia ‘rape, suicide’ spark protest in Panchagarh

People from all walks of life today staged a demonstration in Tetulia upazila of Panchagarh demanding capital punishment of two youths for allegedly raping a schoolgirl and provoking her to commit suicide.

They joined a human chain organised by Kazi Shahabuddin Girls' High School and College at Tetulia Bazar demanding immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of the culprits, reports our Thakurgaon correspondent.

Addressing the programme, speakers claimed that there has been “negligence from the police” over the incident from the very beginning, and demanded removal of Saresh Chandra, officer –in-charge of Tetulia Police Station.

The agitated people later besieged the UNO office and placed a memorandum to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina through the UNO.  

The victim, Rahima Akhter Sonia, 14, a ninth-grader of Kazi Shahabuddin Girls' High School and College, committed suicide on October 10 as the culprits threatened to release video clips of the rape incident on the internet, according to the case filed over the incident.

Monsur Alam Rajon, a ward boy of Tentulia Upazila Health Complex, and his cohort Atikujjaman Atik, a local bKash agent, raped Sonia and took video footage of the incident nearly three months ago.

The culprits threatened to release the clips as she informed her family about the incident, who later informed Rajon’s elder brother about it.

When her family went to file a case against the culprits with Tetulia Police Station on October 10 night, police initially refused to register the case. After repeated attempts, the case was filed four days later against Rajon and Atik for provoking the victim to commit suicide.