Woman assaulted while feeding dogs in Banasree

“The dogs really like me. Whenever I walk down the street, they follow me because I feed them regularly. Yesterday, too, when I went to feed them in that lane, I got into an argument with some local people. At one point, they punched and kicked me.”

This is how Sumaiya Rahman, a young woman who lives in the capital’s Banasree area, described the attack and harassment she faced.

Speaking to this reporter in Banasree on Wednesday evening, Sumaiya showed the marks of injuries on different parts of her body. There were still visible injuries below her eyes and on her face. Parts of her hands had turned black due to the injuries.

Sumaiya, who works for a private company, said, “They beat me badly. They hit me hardest on my back. Somehow, I managed to flee the area to save my life.”

Sumaiya regularly feeds stray dogs in Banasree. Like on other days, she went to feed several dogs near the middle of Lal Mia Lane on Road 8/3 in Banasree’s F Block at around 10pm on Tuesday.

Sumaiya alleged that she was feeding several dogs in front of a clothing shop in the middle of the lane. When the dogs climbed onto the shop’s stairs, a boy aged around 10 to 12 who was inside the shop initially asked her to move away. When she did not move immediately, the shop owner also became aggressive, she said.

In the meantime, the boy, aged around 10 to 12, verbally abused Sumaiya. She said, “I told the boy, ‘Why are you being disrespectful to me? I’m older than you.’ As soon as I said this, another young man, aged around 20 to 22, came out of the shop and punched me in the face.”

Sumaiya said that after punching her, the man brought together at least 50 to 60 people from the surrounding area. They joined in the attack. Some continued to beat her while others verbally abused her. The assault continued for around half an hour, she said.

Another person, Asif Imtiaz, was with Sumaiya at the time. He is a small business owner and also feeds dogs in the Banasree area.

Asif said, “When Sumaiya was feeding the dogs, a boy from the clothing shop initially asked her to move away. We asked them to give us two minutes and said we would leave. But they did not listen and immediately ordered us to leave. When we still tried to feed the dogs, they became aggressive and later assaulted Sumaiya.”

While the argument with Sumaiya was taking place, Asif went to seek help from someone he knew nearby. When that person did not help him, he returned and quickly left the area with Sumaiya. He said, “They would have beaten me too. So I quickly left the area for our safety.”

When this reporter visited the spot in Lal Mia Lane on Wednesday afternoon where Sumaiya was allegedly assaulted, the clothing shop was found closed. Other nearby shops were also closed.

Residents of the lane were reluctant to speak when asked whether they had witnessed the incident. Later, a local resident named Nur Hossain acknowledged that a woman had been assaulted around 10pm.

Nur Hossain claimed that Sumaiya had made the shop dirty while feeding the dogs. He said she verbally abused the shop owner when she was asked to stop. However, he did not provide any information about who was at the shop or the owner’s name.

Another person, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the person who initially assaulted Sumaiya was named Shuvo. He is an associate of two locally influential men, Mainul and Halim, who are brothers. Shuvo is Halim’s brother-in-law. The clothing shop is mainly run by Shuvo, the person said.

According to him, Shuvo gathered another 50 to 60 people from the surrounding area and harassed and assaulted Sumaiya for at least 30 minutes.

Sumaiya, who was assaulted, received treatment at Mugda Medical College Hospital in the capital on Wednesday morning. She said she had suffered the most serious injury to her jaw. After providing initial treatment, doctors advised her to have an X-ray. The extent of her injuries will be known after the X-ray report is available, she said.

Sumaiya also filed a complaint with Khilgaon police station on Wednesday. Following the complaint, a police team visited Lal Mia Lane in the afternoon.

Sub-Inspector Azharul Islam, who was part of the police team, told Prothom Alo by phone, “We visited the area with the victim. However, she could not identify the people who attacked her.”

Asked what the police had learned about the incident, Azharul Islam said, “The victim was assaulted. But it is not yet clear who was involved. None of the local residents is admitting to having witnessed the incident. We are still investigating and trying to determine what actually happened. We are scheduled to meet the accused and the victim again tomorrow. The actual facts may emerge then.”