Khulna woman tied to tree, brutally beaten up

A 35-year-old woman was ruthlessly beaten up over a land-related dispute after the attackers tied her to a tree in Koyra upazila of Khulna on 11 July.

The victim, Shamima Nasrin of ​​Gilabari village, suffered severe injuries in the assault and is currently undergoing treatment at Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH).

"There has been a long-running dispute with my uncles over a piece of ancestral property. My uncles made several attempts to forcefully occupy my father's land before. A case has been pending for three years with a Khulna court over this matter," she told The Business Standard on Friday morning.

"In a bid to seize the property, they are now trying to build a house on the land. Being helpless, we lodged a complaint at the police station on the day of Eid-ul-Azha. Later on that day, I left my husband's house and went to my father's house which is located in the same village."

"The next morning (11 July), a group of 20-30 men including my uncle and cousins ​​stormed the house and tried to beat up my father Abdul Gaffar Gazi and brother Jamshed Hossain. In an effort to save them, I locked my father and brother in a room. That's when they started assaulting me," Shamima said.

"My cousins – ​​Saiful, Shoaib, Salah Uddin and Firoz – grabbed me from my house and took me to the street. As they started hitting me from all directions, my clothes came off. They then tied me to a mahogany tree on the side of the road and continued to thrash me till I became unconscious," the victim said, adding that the attackers also bit the sensitive parts of her body.

Rastum Ghazi, the brother-in-law of the victim, said that the assaulters tried to build a house on the land by tying Shamima to the tree.

Shahnewaz Shikari, chairman of the Maheshwaripur Union Parishad, said, "The two parties have been fighting for a long time over the land issue. The matter has been arbitrated several times, but no solution was found."

"I was not there at the time of the incident. But I informed the police upon receiving the news," the UP chairman added.

Koyra police station Inspector (investigation) Md Ibrahim Ali said, "A police team went to the spot after receiving a 999-emergency call and rescued the victim. She was then taken to the hospital.

"The victims and her relatives have been asked to come to the police station and lodge a complaint. Legal action will be taken after receiving an official complaint."