<i>Torture for failing to repay loan</i>
Now they are threatening to kill the victim
The torturers at one stage cut Moina Begum's hair and rubbed bitumen on face.
The accused of a criminal case and their relatives are threatening to kill the complainant if she does not withdraw the case. Moina Begum, 22, lodged an FIR with Khulna Sadar Police Station on the night of September 4 against three people on charge of brutal torture on her. The FIR was recorded as a regular case under Women and Children Repression Prevention Act at 10:00pm the same night. Hours later, police arrested an accused -- Raju, 23, of Rupsha Strand Road in Khulna city. Two other accused are Raju's sister Noor Nahar, 25, and mother Jahar Banu, 48. Moina Begum stated in her FIR that the accused tortured her brutally in their house on June 13 this year for failing to pay back loan of Tk 5000 with compound interest. "They confined me to a room and brutally tortured me physically for several hours. At one stage, they cut hair of my head and rubbed bitumen on my face. They also poured dust of dried chilli on different places of my body including private parts," goes the FIR. The accused, also alleged drug peddlers, threatened to kill her in case of any police action, she said, adding, "As OC Kamruzzaman refused to receive my FIR that time, I went into hiding for security reasons." Senior Sub Inspector Asmani Khanam, who has been made investigation officer (IO) of the case, arrested accused Raju on September 5 morning. "Raju is a drug peddler. He is also a stalker. I am trying hard to arrest the two other absconding accused in this sensational case," the IO said. When contacted, Moina Begum told this correspondent yesterday, "I went to Dhaka and stayed there for days with a relative who provided financial assistance for my medical treatment. But still I am not physically and mentally fit enough to move freely. Now in Khulna, I am feeling insecure due to the threat from the accused." When asked about the reason for refusing to receive the FIR two months ago, OC Kamruzzaman said, "It is not mandatory to always answer each and every query of journalists regarding a criminal case for the sake of investigation."
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