A man has reportedly been fined Tk5,000 in an arbitration for raping a nine-year-old girl in Gojaria Brahmanpara village in Lalmai upazila of Comilla.
According to locals, Abdul Motin, 65, forcibly took the girl to a nearby sugarcane field and raped her there. He then threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the incident, before raping her a second time.
The child returned home in tears and informed her parents, who later took the matter to Perul (South) Union Parishad Member Jahangir Alam Majumder and demanded justice.
There was an arbitration on the allegation on Monday. Village leaders Mizanur Rahman, Firoz Ahmed Bhuiya and Babul Majumder as well as UP Member Jahangir found Motin guilty of the crime and let him off with a meagre fine of Tk5,000.
The arbitrators also forbade the child’s family from filing a case or complaint in connection with the rape.
When asked about the matter, the UP member said he had made a mistake. “Come here so we can discuss it along with the villagers in person. I cannot say anything else right now,” Jahangir told this correspondent.
Mizanur, a resident of the village, said: “Everyone in the village was present at the rape arbitration. We did nothing in secret. We did it in front of everyone. Come to the village, meet with everyone, and you will see the truth.”
Perul (South) UP Chairman Khandaker Saifullah said he was unaware of the rape and the subsequent arbitration.
He assured that he would look into the incident on Friday and take necessary action against the perpetrator.
The father of the rape survivor, a rickshaw puller by profession, said he had told the arbitrators that he was unhappy with the punishment meted out to Motin.
“They attacked my relatives for protesting this arbitration; two of them are still hospitalized. Now they are saying that when the injured are discharged from the hospital there will be another arbitration. I said I would go to the police if I did not like the outcome,” he added.
Lalmai police station OC Md Aiyub said a case had yet to be filed in this connection.
The local UNO, Forkan Elahi Anupam, said the upazila administration would probe into the incident if a complaint was filed.
Dhaka Tribune could not reach Abdul Motin or his family members for comment over phone.
