Suicide of Schoolgirl: UP member sued for instigation

A union parishad member and five others have been accused of instigating the suicide of a schoolgirl in Gopalpur upazila of Tangail.

Police recovered the body of ninth grader Samia Akter Sathi from her house at Hadira union of the upazila on Saturday night.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

Meanwhile, the chairman and a member of Mathirapur union in Naogaon's Badalgachhi upazila allegedly beat up a housewife and her mother during arbitration over a family feud on Saturday.

Locals said Sathi was in a relationship with her schoolmate Selim Miah of Bhadurir Char village. The boy, a tenth-grader, went to Sathi's house at the same village around 10:00pm on Friday. At one stage, two locals padlocked the door and informed neighbours about the matter.

Selim's father Abul Hossain sought intervention from Sabur Uddin, UP member of ward-7 at Hadira union. Sabur on that night put forward a proposal to marry Sathi off to her schoolmate. But the boy's mother rejected the proposal.

Sabur later hurled abuse at Sathi and assaulted her physically, locals alleged.

The following day, Sathi called Selim, but he did not pick up the phone. Neighbours also made indecent comments about Sathi. Failing to stand the insult, the schoolgirl committed suicide around 2:00pm on Saturday.

Her mother filed a case with Gopalpur Police Station on Sunday night, accusing Selim and five others of instigating Sathi's suicide.

OC Mohammad Abdul Jalil of the police station said the six accused went into hiding following the incident.

The autopsy of the schoolgirl was performed at Tangail Medical College Hospital on Sunday. She was buried at a graveyard in the village on the same day.

Despite making repeated attempts, this newspaper could not reach Sathi's parents over the phone for their comments.

In Naogaon, Mathirapur Union Parishad Chairman Abdur Rahman and member Shahidul Islam of ward-8 allegedly beat up housewife Champa Begum and her mother Sonavan Begum during arbitration on Saturday.

Locals said Champa's husband Rubel Islam had a rivalry with his sister Ruma Parvin over the ownership of a piece of land.

During the arbitration, the chairman was hearing the statement of Rubel. At on stage, Champa spoke up for her husband.

But Rahman would not listen to her. He asked the housewife to keep mum, but she did not comply.

Infuriated at this, the chairman started beating Champa with a wooden stick.

Seeing her daughter assaulted, Sonavan stepped forward to save her, but got herself beaten by the chairman and his supporters, including UP member Shahidul.

OC Jalal Uddin of Badalgachhi Police Station said they would take necessary action upon receiving a complaint in this regard.

Our correspondents in Tangail and Natore contributed to this report.