Madrasa girl makes statement before she is on life support

The madrasa student of Sonagazi, who had been set on fire, has made statements before she is on  life support’, sources at the Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital said.

In her statement, the student said four people clad with niqab, burka and gloves set her on fire. One of them was Shampa, the burned student added.

She gave the statement to physicians in the presence of two witnesses.

Such statements taken from a serious patient are later used as the evidence in court.

Quoting the student, the source said the madrasa principal had been harassing female students for a couple of years. He lured them with promises of question papers ahead of the exams.

He harassed students if they rejected him. On 27 March, the principal molested with her. She informed her family and fellow students about the matter. Following a lawsuit against the principal, her brother would accompany her to the madrasa. On the day that she was set on fire, her brother had been barred from entering the madrasa.

The student said as she entered the exam hall, she was called to the roof of the madrasa. She found four people there, wearing niqab, burka and gloves. One of them told her to withdraw the case and pressured to say the allegations brought against the principal were not true.

The burned student said the four persons tied her hands with a scarf as she refused to comply with their orders. They threw something on her body, and told her to run away.

The student said she ran away with her body on fire.

One of four called another by the name Shampa. She heard a female voice. She could not identify any of them as their faces were covered.

The student said her hands were freed as the scarf was burnt in the fire.

On Saturday, the student had gone to Sonagazi Islamia Fazil Madrasa to take the Alim examination. She was set on fire after being tricked into going to the roof of the madrasa. On 27 March, the student’s mother filed a case against the principal on charges of sexually abusing her daughter. The student was set on fire as she refused to withdraw the case against the principal. She was admitted to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital in a critical condition.

*This report, originally published in Prothom Alo Bangla online, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam