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Published : 13 Mar 2025, 11:19 PM
A deep and solemn grief has settled over Zaria village, as mourners gathered at the home of the 8-year-old girl who died after being “raped” in Magura’s Sreepur Upazila.
The child's “mentally distressed” father sat speechless, while siblings and family members wept openly, clutching their chests in sorrow.
On Thursday afternoon, locals flocked to the child's home upon hearing the news of her death.
The tragedy has ignited widespread outrage, with locals demanding swift and severe punishment for those responsible.
“We ask for only one thing: the hanging of the four accused, including Hitu Sheikh,” said Panna Khatun, chairman of the Sabdalpur Union Parishad.
Roop Kumar, a member of the same council, added: “We don't just want capital punishment—we want it without delay. Justice must be swift.”
Throughout Zaria, cries of “hang the rapists” rang out on Thursday - an urgent plea from a grieving community seeking immediate judicial action.
The house where the crime occurred now stands abandoned.
In the eyes of the villagers, it is no longer a home but a place of horror—known simply as the house of “rapist Hitu Sheikh”.
Its inhabitants, including “rapist” Hitu, his wife Jabeda Begum, and their two sons, Shojib Sheikh, and Ratul Sheikh, are in police custody.
Around 6:20pm, the body of the child arrived in Magura Stadium on an army helicopter.
Under military and police supervision, the girl’s remains were then transported to her family’s home in Zaria village for burial.
Around the burial site, wails of grief echoed as relatives and villagers braced for a final farewell.
The family alleged that the child was raped on Mar 6 while visiting her sister's house in Magura.
Following the incident, she was first taken to Magura Sadar Hospital.
However, as her condition deteriorated, she was taken to Faridpur Medical College Hospital.
Later, she was then sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital's paediatric intensive care unit for further treatment and was later put on a ventilator on Friday night.
On Saturday, doctors at Dhaka Medical College declared the child's condition to be "critical".
On Mar 8, she was moved to the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka, where she succumbed to her injuries at 1pm on Thursday, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations, or ISPR.
News of the incident sparked nationwide condemnation. Amid a surge in rape reports nationwide, people have been protesting across the country demanding capital punishment for rapists.
On Saturday, the child’s mother filed a rape and attempt-to-murder case against four people at Magura Sadar Police Station.
The accused are the child's brother-in-law Shojib, 18, his father Hitu, 42, Ratul, 17, and their mother Jabeda, 40. All the perpetrators are currently in jail.
The case documents say that Hitu “raped” the child with help from Shojib, and Jabeda and her younger son knew about it.
An attempt was made to kill the child to cover up the incident.
The Bangladesh Army expressed its deep condolences to the bereaved family of the child, pledged to stand by them for any of their needs, and prayed for the forgiveness of the departed soul of the child.
Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has also expressed his deep condolences over the incident and has instructed that the perpetrators be swiftly brought to justice.
In a message on Thursday, the Chief Advisor’s Office had called the child’s condition “very critical”.
“She suffered two more cardiac arrests today. The second time, after about 30 minutes of CPR, the heartbeat returned, but her brain was not responding. The coma scale (GCS) is only 3, indicating a state of deep unconsciousness. The child's blood pressure and oxygen levels are also dangerously low."
A few hours later, the ISPR announced her death.
