A Class VI student has been forced to abort her seven-month pregnancy in Kushtia, after allegedly being raped for months.
The incident took place on Saturday at a private clinic in the district’s Khoksa upazila, where two government health workers allegedly performed the abortion in exchange for bribe.
The victim, who is from Mirpur village of Kushtia’s Kumarkhali upazila, is in a critical condition and is undergoing treatment at the gynaecology ward of Kushtia General Hospital.
On Sunday, the victim's father filed a case against Munnu alias Mustak, 30, the alleged rapist – for rape, intimidation, abduction and forced abortion – and his brothers Manik, 40, Rashid, 56, and Shukur, 49, and his sister Monera Khatun, 33, for aiding Mustak.
However, the two accused health workers were not named in the case.
According to the case, Mustak, father of two and neighbour to the victim’s family, first raped her after finding her alone in her house on July 26, 2019.
Her father is a CNG autorickshaw driver in Dhaka. Her mother was visiting a relative’s house due to some urgent work on that day.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, the victim said after raping her, Mustak intimidated the girl into keeping quiet about the assault, threatening to kill her family if she didn’t.
Mustak continued threatening her and raped her multiple times over the following months, and kept an eye on her to make sure she didn’t tell her family about the abuse.
The girl became pregnant, but she did not say anything to her family – until they noticed her physical changes.
On March 3, she was taken to a private diagnostic centre, where they found out that she was seven months pregnant.
She then opened up about the months of assault to her family.
When the news spread, Mustak and his accomplices abducted her from in front of her house on Saturday and took her to a private clinic named NR Clinic, also known as Bhorosha Apar Bari, located across Khoksa Upazila Health Complex.
The victim became severely ill afterwards and was taken to Kumarkhali Upazila Health Complex on Sunday. As her condition deteriorated, she was moved to Kushtia General Hospital.
When contacted, Dr Premangshu Biswas, resident doctor at Khoksa Upazila Health Complex, told Dhaka Tribune they would take action if their staff member was found involved in this incident.
Kushtia Civil Surgeon Dr HM Anwarul Islam said: "If any government official or worker is involved in such despicable act, strict actions will be taken against them."
Kumarkhali police station OC Jahangir Alam said: "The victim's father has filed a case in this connection, and everyone involved will be brought under the law."