Bride’s father, mother, and brother flogged over playing music at wedding
An arbitration meeting was called following a dispute over playing music on sound system at a wedding ceremony.
A local Jubo Dal (youth wing of BNP) leader convened the meeting, which was later joined by leaders of the local BNP and its affiliated organisations.
During the arbitration, the bride’s father, mother and brother were allegedly flogged in public. The family of the bride was also levied a fine of Tk 50,000 at the arbitration.
The incident took place on 20 October in the Burirchar Union of Hatiya Upazila, Noakhali.
As the family failed to pay the fine, the auto-rickshaw of the bride’s brother-in-law was seized.
The news spread today, Thursday, for the auto-rickshaw was being held. Later, the auto-rickshaw was returned following mediation by a local journalist.
According to the bride’s family, the wedding was on 20 October. On the night before the ceremony, they played music on a sound system. That same night, Afshar Uddin, the general secretary of the local Jubo Dal unit in Ward No. 9, demanded an explanation for the music.
This led to a verbal altercation and scuffle with the bride’s brother. The next night, an arbitration meeting was held at the bride’s home. During the meeting, the bride’s mother, father and brother were each flogged ten times for playing music.
When asked, the bride’s brother told Prothom Alo that they had played music until 10:00 pm. The following night of the argument around 9:00 pm, Afshar arrived with party supporters and held an arbitration meeting against them.
At the meeting, they were accused not only of playing music on the sound system but also of snatching Tk 50,000, an accusation the brother denied. He said they were publicly flogged ten times on this charge.
Jubo Dal leader Afshar Uddin, however, denied the allegations. He claimed he was returning home from Sonapur with money collected from the sale of fish. Seeing the bride’s brother standing outside the house, he asked about the loud music.
A scuffle followed, and then the bride’s family allegedly assaulted Afshar. He said he lost his Tk 50,000 during this incident. However, Afshar did admit that an arbitration was held. He said party members convened the meeting after learning of the incident, but claimed that no decision to flog anyone had been made.
Looking into the matter, it was learnt that local village doctor and joint convener of the Upazila Krishak Dal, Md Taslim Uddin, and local resident Alauddin Majhi conducted the arbitration.
The bride’s family alleges that Taslim Uddin carried out the flogging. Despite several calls, he did not respond. Alauddin Majhi later confirmed the fine imposed at the arbitration but denied that any flogging took place.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, Alauddin said that a local rickshaw-puller had protested over the music at the bride’s house, after which the bride’s family assaulted both the rickshaw-puller and Afshar. An arbitration was held regarding this incident, and the family was fined Tk 50,000 for the money Afshar reportedly lost during the scuffle.
Hatiya Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) AKM Azmal Huda told Prothom Alo that he had heard of the incident from various sources, but no formal complaint had been filed. He said police would investigate and take legal action if a complaint is lodged.