Magura, Mar 07 (V7N) –An eight-year-old girl is in critical condition after being raped while visiting her sister’s in-laws' home in Magura.
She is currently undergoing treatment in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
The girl's cousin confirmed the matter to Dhaka Tribune on Friday, saying: "Her condition is very bad. She hasn’t regained consciousness. Everyone went inside to see her. The doctors say her pulse rate is very low. We are waiting for her to wake up."
Describing the incident, he added: "We rescued her on Thursday morning and took her to Magura Sadar Hospital. The doctors said she was having seizures due to excessive bleeding. As her condition deteriorated, she was sent to Faridpur Medical College Hospital and then transferred to Dhaka for advanced treatment on Friday morning.”
He also said: “Her throat was swollen, and her chest had cuts or marks as if made with a sharp object. The left side of her chest had an 'N' carved into it, and the right side was slashed. There was a lot of bleeding, and she was completely unconscious."
He further said: "The incident took place around 2am on Wednesday when she was sleeping next to her sister. After the incident, when her condition worsened, there was an attempt to kill her.
"It is suspected that her sister’s father-in-law committed the crime because we later learned he had a previous accusation of raping another girl. He also reportedly attempted inappropriate behavior with my elder sister, his son’s wife, two to three times."
Earlier, the girl's mother shared a video message on social media, saying: "Four months ago, I married off my 14-year-old daughter to Sajib Sheikh, 18, son of local resident Hitu Mia. Everything was fine for the first three months, but for the past month, my daughter has been scared.”
She added: “She doesn't want to go to her in-laws' house. She says— Mom, someone turns off the lights at night, and I feel someone is grabbing me from behind.
“I tried to reassure her, saying— Maybe it was your husband. But her fear didn’t go away. So, I sent my younger daughter, the eight-year-old, with her so she wouldn’t feel afraid," she said.
She continued: "On Thursday morning, I received a call saying— Your younger daughter is sick; please come to the hospital quickly. When I got there, I saw this condition. I asked my elder daughter— What happened? How did this happen? She replied— Mom, I don’t know. She was sleeping beside me, and around 2:30am, I found her on the floor in this state.”
She added: "We are poor. My husband is disabled. Because of poverty, I married off my elder daughter at just 14. But how could they treat my younger one like this, as if she was attacked by wild animals? My heart is breaking. I’m fasting all day and seeing my little one in this condition."
As of writing this report around noon on Friday, no case had been filed.
However, Magura police have detained the accused Hitu Mia and his son Sajib Sheikh, confirmed Ayub Ali, officer-in-charge of Magura police station.
END/MSS/AJ
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