A group of miscreants reportedly burned the face of a woman journalist of a local newspaper after failing to rape her in Signboard area of Narayanganj.
The incident took place around 4:30pm on Saturday. Two more women journalists were physically assaulted at this time as well.
The survivor told Dhaka Tribune: “When three of us went to cover the protest situation in Signboard area, the protesters asked for our identity.”
After learning that all three women were journalists, the miscreants circled around them and snatched away their belongings.
The woman said: “At this time, a group of men took me to a secluded area and started beating me mercilessly. In a few seconds, they tore off my clothes and started abusing me sexually. They burned my face with a gas lighter after failing to rape me."
“After five to seven minutes of torture, former councillor of Narayanganj City Corporation Ward No 2 area Iqbal Hossain came to my rescue. He managed to send me to hospital,” she added.
The elder brother of the journalist said: “We took her to Narayanganj 300 Bed Hospital at first. Later she was referred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). However, as the road situation was dangerous, we could not take her there.”
Another women journalist who was also physically assaulted said: “The two of us managed to get out of that situation somehow when the miscreants circled around us. But our other colleague was taken away by the angry mob. We went to the local police station right after the incident. However, the police turned us away.”
Narayanganj Superintend of Police Golam Mostafa Rassel said: “If the woman decides to file a case, we will take legal action against them. We heard that she managed to identify a few of the miscreants.”