A housewife named Kakoli Begum from Binnakandi village under Krishnanagar Union of Faridpur Sadar upazila is fighting for her life after consuming poison due to physical and mental torture by her husband and his family members over dowry.
The mother of two children, Kakoli Begum, is currently undergoing treatment in critical condition at Dhaka’s Shaheed Suhrawardy Hospital. The family has informed that her physical condition is deteriorating day by day.
The housewife’s father, Md. Akkas Ali Patwari, a resident of Basunorsinghdia village in the same upazila, and others said that about 15–16 years ago, Kakoli was married to Ershad Sheikh, son of Tota Sheikh of Mallikpur Binnakandi village. From the very beginning of the marriage, she was frequently assaulted for dowry. Considering his daughter’s well-being, a few years ago they sent Ershad to Dubai by spending five lakh taka. He said that while the husband was abroad, the mother-in-law, Jamela Khatun, and father-in-law, Tota Sheikh, often subjected their daughter-in-law Kakoli Begum to physical and mental torture. Due to their torture, Kakoli left her in-laws’ house several times and took shelter at her father’s house, though she was sent back through family arbitration.
He claimed that this year, on April 25, Kakoli’s husband returned from abroad. Within a short time, he demanded another five lakh taka to go abroad again, on the excuse that it required more money to go to another country. When the family refused to pay the money, her husband, mother-in-law, and father-in-law detained her inside the house for four days and tortured her, which left her mentally devastated. On September 17, she attempted to commit suicide by consuming pesticide kept in the house.
Kakoli’s father said that several hours after consuming the pesticide, she was taken to the hospital, and through others they came to know about the incident. When they went to the hospital, they learned the full details. After seven days of treatment at Faridpur Medical College Hospital, as her condition worsened, she was shifted to Dhaka. The family alleged that none of the husband’s family members were taking any responsibility for the victim’s condition. Rather, Kakoli’s husband has been trying to flee abroad after the incident.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, when visiting Kakoli’s husband’s house in Binnakandi village, her husband, mother-in-law, and father-in-law were not found. However, Ershad’s sister, Anna Akhter, who was present at the house, said that none of the family members went to the hospital because they were treated badly there. But when asked where Ershad and his parents were, she could not give a satisfactory answer.
In this connection, Kakoli’s father, Md. Akkas Ali Patwari, filed a complaint with Kotwali Police Station against her husband, father-in-law, and mother-in-law. The case was registered on September 28 under Section 11(g) of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000 (Amended 2003), with case number 57.
The investigating officer of the case, Sub-Inspector Jahangir Alam, said that the complaint is under investigation, and legal action will be taken after the investigation is completed.
