Death of Hena

THE high court on Wednesday issued a suo motu rule over a teenage rape victim who was flogged to death at Chamta village of Naria upazila in Shariatpur district. After browsing a report published in newspapers on Wednesday, a division bench … asked the Shariatpur DC and the Naria UNO to explain within a fortnight what legal steps were taken after Hena was raped and what preventive measures initiated to protect her from … flogging. As advocate Seema Zahur … drew the attention of the court to the tragic incident of Hena, daughter of a poor peasant, the HC issued the suo motu rule. Newspapers reported that [the victim] was raped on Sunday after midnight by a … relative when she came out of her room…. Later on local people, including religious leaders, at a meeting 'found [the victim] and the rapist guilty of adultery'. [She was ordered to be flogged]. She felt unconscious during the flogging and later died at Naria upazila health complex the following day. [The teenage victim] was raped and then murdered in the name of justice. Thus she was the victim of barbarity as well as injustice. Her death caused due to flogging amounts to clear murder by a group of fanatics…. Hena had committed no crime; rather she was the victim of a heinous crime committed by the rapist. But instead of punishing … the perpetrator … the zealots, in the name of a religious edict, tortured the girl mercilessly by flogging resulting in her death. Society should be ashamed of the torture, injustice and barbarity meted out to a helpless village girl who has become the victim of … ignorance. What has happened [in this case] is not a stray incident. In the recent past also several such … incidents took place in the country in the name of religion and justice. But in most cases those responsible escaped justice and punishment…. However, now that the high court has taken note of the tragic death, let us hope that the rapist and the zealots will not be able to skip punishment. It should be ensured that the guilty people are given exemplary punishment to stop recurrence of such barbarity. — (Feb 4)