Purnima Rani, a 12-year-old Hindu girl, is terrified and breaks down frequently as she describes what happened 18 months ago in the village of Perba Delua in Bangladesh. "Nearly 30 people came to our house. I recognised many of them as my neighbours. They beat my mother almost senseless. I begged them to stop. They dragged me outside. I resisted but they hit me with sticks. I shouted to my sister to save me but they beat her too. I cannot tell you what happened next." Purnima was gang-raped and her family found her unconscious three hours later in a field a mile from the village. Four young men, all supporters of the government and its coalition partner, the fundamentalist Jamaati-e-Islami party, were arrested but have not been charged. But the ordeal did not stop there. The family's hairdressing business was twice looted, her elder brother was beaten and is expected to lose his sight, and they have now all fled the village after threats that they would be killed. Her father has been offered bribes to drop the case and Purnima, one of the few victims of Bangladeshi sectarian violence who is prepared to talk openly, is now in hiding. "I want justice, not money," she says.
RE:Rape and torture empties the villages
by ratan goswami on Aug 01, 2008 03:59 PM Permalink
I share the pain And what do you expect from this Sissy govt they dont have the guts to voice this. Take this govt out of power. Also where are the Gujarat appeasers Teesta etc why dont they say anything. Where is Media NDTV Times Now. we all live in a world of complete professionalism and bother to get only our share forget others.
