Girl ‘raped’ in Magura hospitalised in Dhaka. Police arrest her brother-in-law and his father

The girl's mother says, “My daughter was alone in the house at the time of the incident. She has not regained consciousness”

A girl who went to her sister’s house for a visit and was allegedly raped has been admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment.

She is currently in the hospital’s Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, or PICU.

“The child was admitted to Dhaka Medical after Thursday evening,” said Sub-Inspector Md Masud of the hospital’s police outpost. “She is in critical condition.”

Police have detained the girl’s brother-in-law Sojib Hossain, 18, and her sister’s father-in-law Hitu Mia, 42, over the incident.

The two were arrested on Thursday night in Magura, according to Ayub Ali, chief of Magura Sadar Police Station.

The eight-year-old girl was allegedly assaulted when she went to visit her sister’s house in Nijnanduali village in the Magura suburbs on Thursday afternoon.

Her family says she was initially admitted to Magura Sadar Hospital for treatment. When her condition deteriorated, she was sent to Faridpur Medical College Hospital. From there, she was sent to Dhaka for advanced treatment.

Her mother says the girl remains unconscious and had been alone at the house at the time of the incident, making it difficult to immediately identify the culprits.

“They found my daughter alone in the house, raped her, and left her. We found her unconscious on the floor and rushed her to the hospital.”

Dr Subash Ranjan Haldar of the emergency department at Magura Sadar Hospital had said on Thursday night that the girl’s condition was not critical.

“The girl was first brought to the hospital as a patient with breathing difficulties. When we took her to the medicine department, we found evidence of a rape and attempt to murder. She has been sent to Faridpur Medical College Hospital for advanced treatment.”

The two detainees are being questioned, said Magura police official Ayub.