July martyr’s daughter found hanging weeks after gang-rape

The body of the daughter of Shahid Jasim Uddin, a martyr of the July-August movement, was found hanging at a rented house in the capital’s Shekhertek area on Saturday night.

Locals recovered her and rushed her to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared her dead.

Family sources said that on the evening of March 18, while traveling from her home in Pangasia Union of Patuakhali to her maternal grandparents’ house, the young woman was gang-raped. She later filed a case against the accused at Dumki Police Station.

Family members alleged that since the incident, she had been suffering from severe mental trauma. Overwhelmed by shame, social pressure, and the prolonged judicial process, she became deeply depressed. Unable to bear the burden any longer, she ultimately took her own life.

Her maternal uncle, Saiful Islam, said, "I was at my shop when I suddenly received a call from my village informing me that my niece had passed away. I rushed to the hospital and found her lifeless body there."

He added, "During the July movement, my sister became widowed. Now, she has lost her daughter too."

Neighbour Jamila Khatun said that on Saturday evening, the mother and daughter returned home after shopping for clothes. Later that night, while the mother was taking her younger daughter to the madrasa, the elder daughter hanged herself. The family had planned to travel to their village home in Patuakhali by launch on Sunday afternoon.

When contacted, Adabor Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) SM Zakaria told Jago News that it appeared to be a case of suicide based on preliminary findings. However, the exact cause of death will be confirmed after the autopsy. The body is currently being kept at the hospital morgue.

Jasim Uddin, the deceased's father, was shot during a student movement on July 19 in the Mohammadpur area of the capital. He died 10 days later while undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. He was later buried at his ancestral home in Dumki upazila of Patuakhali.