A village "shalish" (arbitration council) has reportedly forced a fifth-grade schoolgirl from her home—in Kalihati upazila of Tangail—because she fell pregnant after being raped by a local man of influence.
According to locals, about three months ago, the underprivileged schoolgirl was reportedly raped by a local man named Ram Prasant, 22, following which the girl fell pregnant.
A shalish meeting, called for by prominent locals, on Thursday, reportedly extorted large sums of money from the accused, promising to save him by banishing the girl from her home in Purba bashinda area.
When reached out to: the shalish committee members, Parkhi Union Parishad (UP) member Kuddus, Kuddus' son Saiful, and Awami League union ward President Khasru Mia denied the allegations and said the shalish was conducted under the Chairman’s direction.
Regarding this, UP Chairman Liakat Talukdar confirmed that he gave the men directions to conduct the shalish meeting but did not have any knowledge of extortion money.
Kalihati police station OC (Investigation) Nazrul Islam said: “Police, upon primary investigation, found the reported incident to be true. Necessary action will soon be taken once the girl is rescued.”