A twenty-year-old woman has died at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, four days after she was abducted and subjected to a violent gang-rape in Vheramara, Kushtia.
The victim, identified as Thoma Khatun, succumbed to her severe injuries at approximately 02:30 BST on Friday, 18 September. She was the daughter of Tofazzal Hossain, a resident of Fakirabad Bakhshipara village in the Golapnagar area under Vheramara Upazila.
According to local sources, the incident unfolded on the evening of Tuesday, 15 September. Thoma was returning home on foot from a local beauty parlour at Golapnagar market around 21:00 BST when a group of men on a motorcycle intercepted her path. The assailants forcibly bundled her onto the vehicle and sped away to an undisclosed location.
Investigators and residents believe that four to five men were involved in the abduction and subsequent physical assault. After subjecting her to extreme torture for several hours, the perpetrators dumped her in a critically injured state at a deserted road junction near her family home at around midnight.
Family members located the victim shortly after 00:30 BST and rushed her to the Vheramara Upazila Health Complex at 01:00 BST. Given the severity of her physical trauma, medical officers at the facility immediately transferred her to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital for advanced treatment. Despite four days of intensive care, doctors were unable to save her life.
The day following the abduction, the victim’s mother, Kajli Khatun, lodged a formal written complaint with the local police station.
Family sources revealed that Thoma had been married to Abu Bakkar, a resident of the same locality, around eighteen months ago. The couple divorced approximately six weeks before the incident. Relatives suspect that her former husband may have orchestrated or participated in the attack following the breakdown of their marriage. Acting on these suspicions, law enforcement officers have taken Bakkar into custody for interrogation.
Describing the ordeal, the victim’s cousin, local political activist Habibur Rahman Habib, stated that Thoma was an innocent young woman who fell victim to a monstrous crime. He confirmed that the family is in the process of filing a formal murder and gang-rape case with the Vheramara Police Station.
Inspector (Investigation) Rokibul Islam of Vheramara Police Station confirmed receipt of the written complaint. He stated that officers are currently questioning the victim’s ex-husband, Abu Bakkar, while operations continue to identify and apprehend the remaining perpetrators involved in the heinous crime.
