Woman falls from rickshaw during mugging, dies in hospital
A woman died on Thursday while undergoing treatment at a hospital in the city after four days of sustaining injuries falling from a moving rickshaw as muggers tried to snatch her vanity bag.
The incident took place last Sunday around 6:15 am in front of the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in Dhaka.
Victim Soheli Islam, 42, was returning home with her only daughter by rickshaw after getting off a bus. Two muggers, wearing helmets on a motorcycle, were passing by. The person sitting on the back of the motorcycle suddenly grabbed the vanity bag wrapped around Soheli’s hand and started pulling. At one point, Soheli fell from the moving rickshaw.
Her right arm was broken and she received a serious injury to the back of her head. Blood began to pour from her ears. Later, with the help of some locals, her daughter admitted her mother to the hospital.
After four days of treatment, she died in the hospital Thursday.
Her burial was completed in the afternoon in the Paschim Tengri area of Ishwardi upazila, Pabna, at her maternal grandparents’ home. Soheli’s only daughter, Sumaia Alam, an undergraduate student at Home Economics College, has been mentally devastated by her death.
Soheli’s home is in the Shahebpara area of Parbatipur upazila, Dinajpur. She worked as a Medical Service Officer at the SK+F pharmaceutical company. She used to live in a rented house near Green Road in Dhaka's Dhanmondi.
Soheli’s uncle Sarwar Parvez said that a few days earlier, Soheli had come to Parbatipur with her daughter to attend a family programme. After the event, she left for Dhaka by bus on Saturday night.
He said that on Sunday at around 5:00 am, she got down at Gabtoli and waited at the counter. After about an hour, she took a rickshaw towards her home and was attacked by muggers after passing the gate of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital.
Sarwar Parvez added that Soheli was divorced about 15 years ago, after which her struggle-filled life began. Her father passed away two years ago, followed by her mother just two months later.
Soheli’s brother-in-law Tariqul Islam said that after falling from the rickshaw, the back of her head was badly injured and there was severe bleeding. She called for help but initially no one came forward. Later, with the help of the rickshaw puller and another person, she was taken to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital. From there she was shifted to the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital and later to a private hospital.
By then, it was too late. She could no longer speak and was only groaning in pain.
He also said that no case has been filed yet in connection with the incident. Legal action will be taken once the situation becomes a bit stable.