Three burned in chemical attack after marriage proposal rejected
Three members of the same family, including a woman and a child, suffered burns in a flammable chemical attack in Jashore. The incident occurred around 8:45 pm on Thursday in Gadkhali village under Jhikargacha upazila.
The victims have been admitted to Jashore General Hospital. According to family members, the attack was carried out by a local man after a marriage proposal was rejected.
The victims are Ripa Khatun (26), her mother Rahela Begum (48), and her eight-year-old son, Yanur Rahman—residents of Gadkhali village in Jhikargacha.
Ripa’s uncle, Abdur Rahman, said she had separated from her husband about four years ago and had since been living at her father’s house with her son.
Family members alleged that a man named Jasim Uddin was responsible for the attack. He is from Pantapara village in the neighbouring Sharsha upazila.
Although married with children, Jasim had been working as a day labourer in Mathbari village of Jhikargacha for the past year. During this time, he repeatedly proposed marriage to Ripa, but she consistently declined.
Quoting the family, Jhikargacha Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Abu Sayid said Ripa was feeding her son inside their home at the time of the attack, while her brother sat nearby studying.
Jasim reportedly threw the chemical through a window. “Jasim had expressed interest in Ripa and proposed to her several times. After repeated rejection, he became enraged and carried out the attack,” the inspector said.
The victims were initially taken to the local upazila health complex before being transferred to Jashore General Hospital.
Safayet Hossain, superintendent of Jashore General Hospital, confirmed that all three had been admitted with chemical burns. “Different parts of their bodies have been burned, but they are out of danger,” he said.
Responding to a query, he added, “Whether it was acid will be determined through lab tests. For now, it has been recorded as a case of chemical burns.”