After battling for six days between life and death, the eight-year-old girl, who was raped and subjected to an attempted murder while visiting her sister’s in-laws’ home in Magura, has passed away.
Since receiving the news of her daughter’s death, the child’s mother has been left in shock.
The victim’s paternal aunt told Dhaka Tribune: "Since yesterday (Wednesday), the child's mother has been in a terrible state. Even though the doctors didn’t say anything outright, we could sense that we were about to receive tragic news. She has been speechless since yesterday—unable to say a word."
She further said: "We will never get our beloved child back. Now, our only demand is that the perpetrators do not escape justice. They must receive the punishment they deserve."
On Thursday at 1pm, doctors at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka declared the child deceased after she remained in critical condition under treatment for six days.
CMH report: Repeated cardiac arrests before death
According to sources at CMH, the child suffered four episodes of cardiac arrest on Wednesday while being treated in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).
On Thursday morning, she experienced three more instances of cardiac arrest. Despite receiving CPR, her heartbeat returned only twice.
However, at around 12pm, another cardiac arrest occurred, and this time, despite further CPR attempts, her heart did not resume beating.
Finally, at 1pm, doctors pronounced her dead.
Following an autopsy, the child’s body was transported to her home village in Magura via a Bangladesh Army helicopter at around 7pm.
Trial to begin within seven days
Dr Asif Nazrul, adviser to the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs, has said that the trial for the rape and murder case will commence within the next seven days.
During a press briefing at the Secretariat on Thursday, the law adviser said: "We have already arranged for the post-mortem report to be collected today. The child's body will be transported to Magura for burial by helicopter. Government representative Farida Akhter will accompany the family and remain there until the burial is completed."
He added: "Our judiciary is committed to ensuring justice as swiftly as possible. Since the witness testimonies, DNA tests, and post-mortem reports are being processed quickly, we anticipate a rapid trial. Inshallah, if found guilty, the accused will receive exemplary punishment."
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam echoed similar sentiments during a press conference on Thursday, saying that the investigation would be completed as soon as possible and that a report against the culprits would be submitted.
He warned that strict punitive measures would be enforced to deter such crimes in the future.
DNA sample collection and legal proceedings
On Wednesday, DNA samples of three of the four accused were collected in connection with the rape and attempted murder of the child.
The samples were obtained at the CID’s DNA profiling laboratory in Dhaka.
Earlier, on Sunday night, for security reasons, the accused were presented before the court for a remand hearing.
The judge granted a seven-day remand for the primary accused, Hitu Mia (the sister’s father-in-law), and a five-day remand for his two sons and wife.
Case details
On March 5, the eight-year-old victim was raped and subjected to an attempted murder while visiting her sister’s in-laws’ home in Magura.
She was initially taken to Magura 250-Bed Hospital in critical condition but was later transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) on the same day.
A medical board was formed to oversee her treatment.
With no significant improvement in her condition over two days, she was transferred to CMH on Saturday, where another medical board was established for her care.
On the same day, the child’s mother filed a case at Magura Sadar police station under Section 9(4)(a) of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.
The section states: "If a person commits rape resulting in death or attempts to injure fatally, they shall be sentenced to death or life imprisonment with hard labor, along with an additional financial penalty."
Four individuals have been arrested in this case: the child’s brother-in-law Sajib Hossain, 18, his father Hitu Mia, 42, brother Sheikh, 17, and their mother Jabeeda Begum, 40.
