Dateline: Manikgang, Bagerhat or the whole of Bangladesh

Rubayet Ferdhous, Maher Nigar, Shantanu Majumdar, Tajin Aziz Chowdhury, Md. Nurruzzaman, Salma Chowdhury, Md. Asaduzzaman, Sitesh Chandra Bachar, Israfil Shahin, Ashfak Hossain, Dilip Kumar barua, Abdus Zaher, Mafigur Rahman, Aksadul Alam, Samir Kumar Shil, Md. Abdur Rashid, Hakim Arif, Saurav Sikdar, Suman Kanti Barua, Nazmun Nahar Ratna

 (http://www.prothom-alo.net/htmlnews/category.php?CategoryID=4&Date=2003-05-08)

A Report from Daily Prothom-Alo dated May 8th, 2003

Translated from Bengali by Mr. Anil Nath

Minority girl of a Brahmin Family at Manikganj became the victim of rape on last 27^th of April. Late at night 10 people raped her one after another with her parents tied up in front of her. After the attack the Brahmin family left the village and hiding for fear of life. It’s been learned from newspaper reports that the attackers tied up: her father with a tree, two brothers in another room and mother in Veranda. The girl became unconscious at one stage but the animals continued with their attack. The mother narrated to the reporters that they did not leave her alone after repeated appeal to them. She said she even agreed to pay the ransom money of 50,000.00 Taka after they took all of her clothes off. But they did not stop. According to the mother they organized this in a preplanned way to push the family out of the village. It is known that this family has about 12 Bigas of land. For a long time one Akkas Ali has been cultivating their land on agreed shared production basis (from the land). To grab the land of this family, Akkas Ali choose this path of reigning of terror to get this family out of the village.

It was 8^th of March, Saturday, International Women day. It was beyond all human apprehension that the attack that took place at the dead of night on the Takur family of Kumorpur village at Bagerhat. It is the most atrocious of all such events in our memory, Because of the attacker employed all conceivable tools of terror on that family. They killed, raped and at the end looted the property. Anyone with healthy mind, reading the newspaper report will definitely get sick. On that night, at knifepoint they raped three women including a daughter and a mother. Tapan Battacharjee, the husband of one of the raped women Ms. Anima Battacharjee, was then attacked and chopped into pieces. The attacker did not leave the premises until after to make sure Tapan Battacharjee has indeed died. They continued the raping for two hours while Tapan Battacharjee was on his “death bed” among the many pieces of his self. Only 10 days ago Ms. Anima Battachrjee gave birth to a stillborn baby. The attackers and the rapists then looted about Taka 80,000.00 worth of property of that Brahmin family. When they left the property they announced to send them 1,00,000.00 Taka or else they will kill Tapan’s elder brother Niranjan Battacharjee.

We are scared of what’s going on. Our very trust in human being is getting shaken. Can you tell who cannot feel sick after reading such events? What government and what state it is that minors getting raped in front of their parent or mother and daughter getting raped together, or the wife gets raped after the husband is killed? There is no language to describe this in a conceivable way. Is that the penalty for not let8ing to grab 12 Bigas land or for non-compliance of command to vote for a particular person in Union Parishad?

There have been attacks on minorities at all times whether during current or past Government. The only difference now is that it has taken political color; it is now an open festival for some. It is now in different form and in top pitch. Aim, however, has stayed same all along. Main aims are: Grab lands, business, terrorize for not behaving in “election” time are the main causes. Both of above cases are not outside these. It has been seen during Awami Government in the past, people close to power occupied more of the properties of minorities. Irrespective of Government, these attitudes have helped the continuation of “enemy property act” for years. This insulting word “enemy” before the property indicates what our mentality is.

It is because of this that we have not seen any justice done on any such case.

Manikganj, Bagerhat or anywhere in the country whatever hellish harassment on minorities has been continuous taking place, we would say, is the result of continuously ignoring the justice. Atrocities have been in indigenous villages; attacks have been perpetrated everywhere, openly and not so openly. We, however, cannot deny the fact that leaving these 10 million minority people in this situation we cannot do any good to the whole society.

How we can also get rid of our own responsibility? The Government has not done anything or the political parties not doing anything, but what about the civil society! To consider that minority will invariably suffer this is not the sign of healthy mentality. We have not created any resistance; never stand side by side with them. The only thing we have done is to identify them of different religious denominations or are supporters of different political parties.