The Lalbagh Halima Sadia Mohila Madrasa authorities bribed law enforcers Tk8,000 in a bid to hide the truth about the murder of one of its students on September 11.
On that fateful day, 11-year-old Sumaiya Akhter was found dead, hanging from a towel rack in a bathroom of the madrasa.
The incident was described as suicide. Talking to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday, Sumaiya’s brother Nurul Alam Noyon claimed that police had filed a false case of suicide and took his father’s signature in exchange for the bribe from the madrasa authorities.
“Someone from the madrasa called me on that day and said something serious had happened. I rushed there at 12:30pm and found my sister hanging from a towel rack with a scarf, her feet touching the floor and her legs bent at the knees.
“But the towel rack from which she was hanging was only a bit above her head. The distance between her neck and the towel rack was in no way ideal for committing suicide.”
The family members along with people from Elephant Road area yesterday organised a human chain and brought out a procession, parading from the Elephant Road to the National Press Club via the TSC and the High Court areas in the capital. Sumaiya often complained about a female teacher named Hajera beating her even on a simple excuse.
But the accountant of the madrasa named Aziz said Hajera and another female teacher named Salma had left the madrasa in the morning of September 11.
Sumaiya, daughter of Mobarak Ali, a staff of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, was enrolled in the madrasa on August 15.
Mobarak Ali said: “When I went to the madrasa Sub-Inspector of Lalbagh police station Md Amzad took my signature on a paper saying if I wanted to file a case, I would have to sign. But, later I realised that it was a false suicide case.”
Sumaiya’s brother Noyon said he had noticed bruises on her neck and other wounds from beatings on various parts of her body.
Sumiaya’s mother Peyara Begum told the Dhaka Tribune: “Police submitted a fake post mortem examination report but we did not see it. As we wanted to see the report they refused to show us.”
The family members demanded immediate arrest of the culprits involved in the “killing” of Sumaiya.
Officer-in-Charge of the police station Md Nurul Mottakim said they were investigating the matter. “Primarily we came to know that Sumaiya’s father had married another woman, which disturbed her mind and might have been the reason behind her suicide.”
Investigation officer SI Md Amzad said the madrasa had opened last Friday. Students said Sumaiya had not wanted to study there but her parents had forced her. “We interrogated almost all there. In the postmortem report it was mentioned as suicide.”
When asked about the signature of Sumaiya’s father he said: “Everything happened in front of many people and I did not take any bribe.”