Nearly 11 months after six-year-old Riya Gope was shot dead while playing on her rooftop during an anti-discrimination student protest in Narayanganj, police have finally filed a case over the incident.
Sub-Inspector (SI) Abu Raihan of Narayanganj Sadar Model Police Station filed the case on Wednesday night (July 1), police confirmed.
Confirming the development, Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Nasir Ahmed said that 150 to 200 unidentified individuals have been named as accused in the case. “The case was supposed to be filed by the victim’s family, but as they did not do so even after a long time, the police took the initiative,” the OC said.
On the afternoon of July 19 last year, Riya Gope was playing on the rooftop of a four-storey building in the Noyamati area beside Bangabandhu Road when gunfire erupted nearby due to the protest. Her father, Deepak Kumar Gope, went to bring her down from the roof upon sensing the danger. As he picked her up, a bullet struck Riya in the head. She later died while undergoing treatment at a hospital.
As no case was filed by the victim’s family, the police eventually lodged one themselves, OC Nasir added. However, the case does not mention any specifically named accused.