Woman tied to tree, beaten over cattle lifting charges

Some miscreants have beaten a 42-year-old housewife by tying her to a tree for allegedly stealing two cows in Damrahuda upazila of Chuadanga . Badly injured, the victim, Kajali Begum alias Kheya, wife of Taral Ali of Chitla village under the upazila, is now being treated at a local hospital, sources said. Meanwhile, eight people were arrested in this connection on Monday afternoon after a case was filed earlier in the day. Damrahuda police station's Officer-in-Charge Md Fakhrul Islam said one Sirajul Islam and his relatives and neighbours from the same village are behind the incident. Sirajul and his associates attacked and vandalised the house of Taral and Kheya, alleging they had stolen two cows on Wednesday night. “As the couple was not at home when Sirajul and others went there the next morning, the latter carried out vandalism and looted valuables,” the OC said. Finally, they found Kheya when she was on her way home from a local market. Then, they tied her to a tree and beat her mercilessly for an hour, said the police officer, quoting witnesses. Afterwards, locals rescued her, taking her to a hospital in the area. As the news of the incident surfaced, garnering much criticism in the locality, Chuadanga's Superintendent of Police (SP) Nizam Uddin and Assistant SP Kalimullah visited the crime scene yesterday morning. After their inspection, Kheya sued nine people naming  Sirajul as the key accused. Later in the day, police arrested Aiyub Ali, his wife Mahirannesa, their son Raju, Bachchu, Hasan, Shaheb Ali, Shetu and Faisal over the incident. Sirajul has been on the run though.