Woman's hair cut during torture, attempt to snatch suspects by besieging police station
A case has been filed over the incident of a woman being assaulted, having her hair cut, and her home vandalised and looted following allegations of theft in Kumarkhali, Kushtia. The victim filed a case on Tuesday night, naming seven individuals as accused.
On Wednesday morning around 9:00 am, police arrested three female suspects in connection with the case. In response, over a hundred villagers gathered at the police station around 11:00 am demanding their release. A scuffle and chase between the police and villagers broke out in the station compound at around 11:35 am and lasted for about 15 minutes. Police later took the accused to court under tight security.
The arrested individuals are Mukti Khatun, wife of Ripon, Parvin Khatun, wife of Momin and Lipi Khatun, wife of Bakkar — all residents of Mirzapur village in the Shilaidaha union of the upazila.
The police station premises were crowded with curious onlookers around 11:00 am. Police were attempting to take the arrested suspects into a vehicle, while locals tried to prevent them from being taken away. In the process of trying to control the situation, the police got into a scuffle with the crowd.
At that moment, Ripon, a resident of Mirzapur village, said, “That woman was caught red-handed stealing Tk 41,000 and meat from my house. Yet the police sided with the thief and arrested my wife along with two others. We want the thief to be punished and are trying to get the detained individuals released.”
Amirul and several others from the same area added that the woman stole from several homes in the village and people caught her and held her accountable.
"But now the police have arrested our people. We want justice," Amirul added.
According to police and local residents, on Monday afternoon, the woman allegedly entered a neighbour's house and stole meat from the refrigerator. The neighbour’s wife caught her, tied her to a guava tree in the yard with a rope, beat her, and took the meat back. Later, the woman’s husband arrived and took her home.
Later that evening, around 8:00 pm, a group of locals vandalized the woman's home, forcibly brought her back to the neighbor’s house, beat her again, and cut her hair. A local union parishad member held a mediation, during which the woman was released in exchange for two cows, one goat, and some gold jewelry around 10:00 pm.
The victim, who filed the case, said, “The villagers staged a theft drama to justify their abuse against me. I filed the case hoping for justice, but now I’m being threatened to withdraw it.”
In videos circulating after the incident, dozens of locals can be seen dragging the woman, pulling off her headscarf, laughing and cheering, while some record the scene on their phones.
Sub-inspector Abdur Rashid, the investigating officer, stated that the woman filed a case with allegations of physical assault, hair-cutting, vandalism, and looting. Three suspects have been arrested.
Kumarkhali police station officer-in-charge (OC) Solaiman Sheikh said, “Villagers tried to obstruct police when we were taking the accused to court, but we ensured their transfer under strict security. The situation is currently under control.”