Residents of Tamai village in Belkuchi upazila, Sirajganj staged a protest yesterday over an allegation of rape against local influential Saju Mollah.
The protesters laid siege to the accused’s house and formed a human chain demanding immediate arrest of Saju.
Speaking to the reporters, the victim said she and Saju were neigbours, and she had been an employer of Saju’s father Sultan Mollah for around one and a half years.
Shortly after she started work, Saju developed a physical relationship with her with the promise that he would marry her.
On January 28 night, Saju was in the victim’s house when the victim’s father caught them and detained Saju.
Later, Saju’s father bailed his son out with the reassurance that he would marry his son off with the victim.
However, Saju and his family started showing reluctance for the wedding, and then the family went into hiding.
The victim said she took position at the front yard of Saju’s house and began a hunger strike 11 days ago out of desperation.
“I will continue my hunger strike until Saju marries me. Or else, my dead body will leave this place,” she told reporters.
Local influential Abu Bakkar Sheikh said: “Both of them are adults, so we tried to resolve this issue via marriage and set up several village arbitration meeting for that. But the accused never showed up in the meetings.”
Saju’s uncle Sarwar Mollah said he went into hiding after he was caught on January 28. “I know this story is true, that’s why I agree on marrying these two off.”
Villagers claimed Saju had ‘raped’ two other women in their village the same way, but their families were paid off with a hefty sum by Saju’s rich and influential family.
When contacted, Belkuchi police station OC Anisur Rahman said the victim’s family had not filed an official complaint yet. “We will take action accordingly when they do.”
However, learning about the incident from local reporters during an event in another village in Belkuchi, Sirajganj Superintendent of Police Miraz Uddin Ahmed went to Tamai and met with the victim’s family.
Shortly after his visit, Belkuchi municipality Mayor Ashanur Biswas and some local Awami League leaders visited them as well.
Assuring the victim to resolve the issue, the mayor instructed Saju, the victim and both their families to be present at upazila Awami League office today.