Injustices drove Hazrat, daughter to suicide

Social injustice, compounded by insecurity and negligent authorities, appear to have driven Hazrat Ali to commit suicide and kill his eight-year-old adopted daughter in Gazipur last week. The 55-year-old jumped with Ayesha Akhter in front of a running train near Sreepur Railway Station on April 29, according to the deceased’s relatives. Hazrat was in despair having failed to get justice from the local administration over an attempted rape against the minor girl in January, and following repeated moves to grab his properties – the latest of which came only a day before his death. Originally from Gaforgaon area in Mymensingh, Hazrat had been living in Karnapur village in Goshinga union under Sreepur upazila for over 30 years with his wife, Halima Begum. As they had no children of their own, they adopted orphan Ayesha and admitted her to Herapotka Primary School. The couple had been living happily with the girl, and they used to make ends meet with whatever small earnings they could make from animal husbandry and through cultivating crops on their three bighas of government land.Insecurity and injusticeFour months ago, as Ayesha was returning home from her school, a local hooligan named Faruk Hossain forcefully took her to a jungle on his bicycle and attempted to rape her. Ayesha escaped and came home with severe injuries, and described the ordeal to her parents. They informed the Union Parishad (UP) authorities and Faruk’s parents of the matter, but to no avail. Halima told the Dhaka Tribune that when they sought justice for their daughter, Goshinga UP member Abul Hossain offered them a paltry Tk200 and asked them to “avoid the matter”. “Faruk’s family is very influential and this is why the authorities did not pay heed to our calls,” a teary Halima said. The couple then lodged a complaint with Sreepur police station. “Following the complaint, ASI Babul Miah visited our home and noted down Ayesha’s comments. But they did not take any action against the accused,” said Halima. The Dhaka Tribune repeatedly tried to contact ASI Babul for his remarks, but his phone was unreachable. Officer-in-Charge Md Asaduzzaman brushed aside the allegation of sexual assault, saying the girl willingly rode on the bicycle with Faruk and was injured when one of her legs got trapped in a wheel. Enraged by the complaint, Faruk and his aides stole a cow owned by the elderly couple. Goshinga UP Chairman Shahjahan Sarker has denied of being informed of the sexual assault and the theft. “The family did not complain to me. UP member Hossain told me nothing,” Shahjahan claimed.Bid to grab assetsArmed with weapons, local farmer Md Hamid and his accomplices allegedly rampaged through Hazrat’s house and threatened to kill him on April 28 - the day before his suicide. This came after Hazrat’s cattle had reportedly damaged Hamid’s crops in a field nearby. Locals alleged that Hossain, Faruk and some other influential people had been trying to grab the land where the family was living along with its assets. Also, the couple had been encountering pressure from certain quarters to leave their homestead. A neighbour of Hazrat said the family had been facing harassment over the last few years. “They never did get justice. Rather, Hossain and Faruk tried to grab their properties and evict them from the land,” he said. “Hazrat might have committed suicide as he had been unable to protect his daughter and save his properties.” Another UP member, Humayun Kabir Pradhan, said Faruk had shown an interest in seizing the family’s property. “I heard the allegation many times that Faruk had long been winding the family up,” he said.Suicide or accident?Over a week has elapsed since the tragic deaths Hazrat and Ayesha, but the police are yet to determine whether it was a suicide or an accident. OC Asaduzzaman theorises the duo might have fallen accidentally while crossing the railway. “The girl might have fallen on the track, and Hazrat tried to rescue her but failed,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. “Their bodies would have been in pieces had they committed suicide. But this did not happen,” he explained.