A total of 136 unnatural deaths and 684 criminal cases were recorded in Satkhira between May and July, according to a quarterly report presented at a human rights advocacy meeting in the district on Saturday.
The report was prepared under the District Human Rights Defender Network (DHRNS) project of Uttaran with support from the Human Rights Culture Foundation (MSF). It also documented at least 33 incidents of human rights violations during the three-month period.
Advocate Muhammad Muniruddin, secretariat support staff of MSF, presented the report at a meeting held at Mangrove Conference Hall.
According to data from the Satkhira General Register Officer (GRO) office, the 684 cases included nine murders, 21 rape cases, 50 cases of violence against women, seven child abuse cases and six abductions. Other cases included robbery, dacoity, theft, housebreaking and vehicle theft.
A significant portion of the cases involved narcotics offences, with 251 filed under the Narcotics Control Act. There were also 12 cases under the Anti-Smuggling Act, five under the Cyber Security Act, three under the Arms Act, five under the Speedy Trial Act and four under the Pornography Control Act. The district recorded 632 criminal cases during the previous three-month period.
Of the 136 unnatural deaths, 49 occurred in May, 44 in June and 43 in July. The district also recorded 65 suicides during the period. A separate compilation based on local newspaper reports recorded 68 abnormal deaths, including 15 murders. The deaths included fatalities from road accidents, lightning, electrocution, drowning, storms and other incidents.
The report also raised concerns over security along the border and in the Sundarbans. Two Bangladeshis were reportedly injured in BSF firing along the border in June, while 32 fishermen were allegedly abducted for ransom while fishing in the Sundarbans.
Participants expressed concern over the prolonged absence of a judge at the Satkhira Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal, saying it had disrupted the filing and disposal of cases and delayed justice for women and children.
They decided to organize a human chain in front of the district court on August 30 and submit a memorandum to the senior district and sessions judge.
MSF Coordinator Sofia Hasin called for stronger monitoring, investigation, documentation and victim support to address human rights violations. She said every violation represents not merely a statistic but a person’s life, a family’s suffering and a failure of society and the state.
The meeting was chaired by Advocate Abul Kalam Azad, convener of the Satkhira District Human Rights Defender Network, and attended by human rights activists, lawyers, journalists and civil society representatives.