Author:
Publication: Human Rights Congress
for Bangladesh Minorities
Date: June-May, 2003
URL: http://www.hrcbm.org/NEWLOOK/Bhola_ajoy_mukto-mona.html
A compilation from news reports
and Dhaka based reports
Note: Minority women and girls are
increasingly becoming victims of rape/gang rape. They are denied of justice
in the country. Are they expandable? Will there be justice for them? We
hope International community will intervene.
Subject: Bicharer Bani Nirabe Nivrite
Kande:
Dear all,
Again minority girls persecuted
all of a single family within mere 8 months. Our police as usual inactive
and ineffective. This is a story of a downtrodden family residing in a
remote village in Bhola district. I would just go mad posting such horrifying
stories of victimized girls at the hands of a few social evils. Is there
no way out? - I cry in agony - Oh God save us !
Dr. Ajoy Roy
Mukto-mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com
Bhola on the news again: Is it a
case of minority persecution ?
written by Dr. Ajoy Roy
Three girls in one family sexually
persecuted
It seems Bhola would never cease
to be news in national dailies. Last time I visited Lord Hardinge union
under Lalmohan police station some time in May, 2002 a school boy of Fatemabad
village in a whispering voice narrated a story of a school going girl of
class IX. A very known notorious spoilt young man of the locality physically
attacked the girl in a lonely village path. As she was passing through
a lonely area covered with bushes and long trees on both sides of the path,
the notorious boy was waiting for her. Taking advantage of the loneliness
of the spot, she attacked her physically- her umbrella was thrown away,
piece of cloth covering her head and upper body (Orna) snatched away and
forcibly dragged to a nearby small temple covered with jungles. She cried
in fear and as good luck favoured her, some passers by on hearing her crying
rescued her. The young man took to his heels. The boy told me that young
man was very known in the locality for his notorious activities. He was
involved in many cases with his associates including some rape cases in
October 2001 repressions against minorities of those localities, but neither
the police nor the social leaders of the locality took effective actions
against them. Leniency always encourages crimes to flourish. On that occasion
I talked to some locals including inmates of the house of the girl, though
the girl and her parents were away. I was informed that a village salishi
(arbitration) was summoned with the initiative of the schoolteachers at
the school campus- the culprit was found guilty. Ten canings and some fine
were prescribed as punishment. But alas the punishment was never carried
out even when I revisited the village in March, 2003 about a year later.
But I have not taken up my pen again
to describe an old story. I am getting tired to expose these stories of
almost identical nature, and surely coming from Bhola. But my good journalist
friend, Mr. Mobaswer Ullah Choudhury from Bhola visited me a week before
and narrated a horrifying and unbelieving story of three minority girls
of a same family. My journalist friend requested me to put the news to
internet readers for international circle. I pointed out to him that this
would be an offence as in the eye of Begum Khaleda and her government this
constitutes an 'export information-terrorism'! My friend repeated his request
with a simpleton-smile (hope my friend would pardon me for the use of the
term). A few days later the news found the columns of a prominent Dhaka
daily. So I found a footing to post the news to internet.
What happened really ?
The story revolves around a poor
family of a so-called low caste Hindu known as Kulu or Teli. The head of
the family is a middle aged simple gentleman, Sridham Teli. Sridham a year
before had a happy family with two daughters, elder one being happily married
to a relatively well to do family. Recently, his younger daughter was forcibly
picked up by a middle-aged man named Nasu Munshi (45), quite well known
in the locality for his notorious activities. The Teli family also knows
the man. The profession of Nasu Munshi is village tautism
The village Charharish is as usual
located in a remote place within inaccessible Charkalmi union about 30
km southwest from Upazila town Charfashon in the coastal district Bhola.
Charkamli is located on the western coast of Bhola not far from the bank
river Tetulia. Sridhams are two brothers, elder one is Balaram Teli. They
live in a locality of the village known as Telipara where there are other
Teli-families too. The traditional profession of this particular caste-people
is to press mustards to extract mustard oils using indigenous pressing
machines run by bulls. Then they sell oils to nearby market for their livelihood.
Bus as of other cast-bound professions (e.go. blacksmiths, metalsmiths,
potters etc... ) this profession also became out of vogue because of introduction
of modern technology. Two brothers now make their livelihood by selling
variety of snacks fried in mustard oil (telehaja) from one market to anther
in the village including one, Baturhat that lies very near to their houses.
The Vile
Just adjacent to village market
Baturhat flows a canal. Infamous Nasu lives just on the other side of the
canal with his large family with two wives and eleven sons & daughters.
On 4th June, 2003 early in the morning Sridham's younger daughter Kunjalata
went to a pond-ghat near to her house for washing of faces. As it seemed
now, in a preplanned raid 4-5 miscreants led by Nasu himself forcible kidnapped
her to his own house. During operation a team of miscreants cordoned off
the houses of Teli brothers. After a few hours she was walked down to another
place through Majherchar clad in yashmak (borkha) obviously for ill motive
to satisfy their sex-lust.
The bewildered and mortified father
went to Charfashon police station to register complain. But the OC refused
to take any FIR. The father returned home more frustrated. After two days
i.e. on 6th June, one SI named Shajahan came apparently for investigation
to the locality. But he did not went to the village Charharish, lace of
occurrence nor he interrogated the accused Nasu Munshi, rather he completed
his investigation talking to persons assembled in a tea shop of Naluabazar
of Charkalmi. What a dutiful officer in deed. Perhaps in defence of the
officer, our higher police administration would come out with a statement
that the salary and facilities an SI gets one should not expect better
service than that. This reminds me a story, of course very much oft-quoted:
once a student asked his private tutor the English equivalent of Bengali
"Chunkam" to which the teacher replied "lime work." When the guardian pointed
out the mistake to the tutor, he replied one can do 'lime work' with the
tuition fees given, with this meager pay 'whitewash' is not possible. The
police officer left the place completing his inquiry and asked panic-stricken
poor Shridham to see him next day at the police station with money, of
course ! But where would Kunjalat's poor dad get money that would fill
big black hole like mouth of the dutiful officer.
The inmates of Nasu's families including
his sons and wives knew of his vileness & wickedness. They admitted
the truth of the incidence. The planning was made in the previous night
with his two close accomplices Kasem and Ghani and executed with perfection
in the following morning.
Her two sisters faced the same fate
Oh no this is not the end of the
story. Kunjlata's elder sister, Ranjita was happily married to a young
man at village Bisarat under Bauphal police station in Patuakhali. In the
last January, about 5 months back she came to visit her parents' home with
her husband. As ill luck would have been, Nasu and his notorious associates
picked her forcibly from the bedside of her husband at dead night. Can
one imagine such hair-raising event could take place in a civilized country
we call Bangladesh. Do you have any language to condemn it ? Don't you
think we have no government, no police, no DCs', no SPs and above all no
army generals? Fortunately, yes fortunately- compared to Kunjalata, Ranjita
was discovered from place Ilisha in Bhola molested and disgraced. Her parents
were glad to find her back. But she lost her place permanently in her in
laws' home as her husband abandoned her out of social indignation. The
brave husband failed to save her wife, and I don't blame him for that,
but did not hesitate to leave his most pure wife for fear of social isolation.
But the culprits survive and flourish unabated.
Is it the end ? No, Sir story is
not yet over. Four months before Ranjita's sad episode, the same Nasu and
his notorious gangsters kidnapped cousin sister of Ranjita-Kunjalata, Jyotsna
(19), daughter of Balaram Teli, elder brother of Shridham. After being
gang raped for two days she was returned to her parents. Her husband too
abandoned her. Both these girls are now with their parents.
Epilogue
Could you believe ! Within 8 months
three girls from same Shridham-Balaram family were kidnapped and rapped
en masse. No cases taken by the police. Culprits are roaming about in the
very nose of our administration, police and civil. What a shame ! Where
is our home minister ? Why is he not resigning with all his police bahini.
What for they exist - if they can't protect innocent girls like Jyotsna,
Ranjita and Kunjalata from the clutches of the evils. Historiographer including
great Ibne Khalidun said that history repeats itself after a time cycle.
But poor Shridham-Balaram Teli family didn't know it would come to their
family so rapidly repeating itself with a period of just less than 3 months.
Neither Balaram nor Shridham ever heard the word 'history', but they learned
a basic law of Historiography in a hard way. Thanks to our social evils
and our inaction of our administration for teaching a god lesson of methodology
of history.
No, even after over a week unfortunate
girl Kunjalata was not yet recovered, nor police is trying with earnest
to trace her out. Would you blame police. Would you call the trilogy a
case of minority repression or by pass it as acts of a few derailed lunatics.
Would you call it lust for grabbing property ? But where is the property
- both brothers feed themselves hand to mouth ? For political revenge ?,
oh no, two brothers don't know the meaning of politics. If it is not communal
frenzy then what is communalism !
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