Bangladesh girl burnt alive for reporting sexual assault

Bangladeshi women hold placards and photographs of 18- year- old schoolgirl Nusrat Jahan Rafi at a protest in Dhaka. Pic/AFP

Dhaka: A schoolgirl in Bangladesh was burnt to death allegedly on the orders of her madrasa principal for a sexual harassment case she had filed against him.

Nusrat Jahan Rafi, 18, was set on fire at her school ( madrasa) on April 6 by four burqa-clad assailants a few days after she complained against principal Siraj- Ud- Daula for inappropriately touching her after calling her to his office. Siraj and 16 others were arrested in the case. Rafi succumbed to the injuries on April 10.

Her death led to protests across Bangladesh with people on Thursday forming human chains and seeking justice for the victim. The protesters sought stern punishment for the murderers and expressed condolences to her family, the Dhaka Tribune reported. News portal bdnews24. com quoted police as saying that Siraj orchestrated the killing of Rafi from jail after his arrest on March 27 in the case.

Deputy Inspector General Ruhul Amin said Siraj had a history of condemnable behaviour that was known to the madrasa governing the body.

He also hinted at the involvement of political leaders in the murder. The police are also probing whether or not there has been negligence on the part of police while investigating the murder case.

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