Dhaka, March 11: Amid ongoing protest movements in Bangladesh against gender-based violence, another six children were raped in six districts, according to local media reports on Tuesday.

At least seven people were arrested on Monday on charges of rape in six districts.

These cases of sexual violence were reported from across several districts of Bangladesh. The children who were sexually assaulted are all aged from six to fourteen. Among one of the incidents, a teenage girl who was a victim of sexual assault died by suicide after being falsely accused and vilified during a local arbitration meeting, reports the leading Bangladeshi newspaper, The Daily Star.

These rising incidents of sexual assault, despite the demonstrations by the people against the rising incidence of violence against women, exposed the further deteriorating law and order situation in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has recently been gripped with protest marches against the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus. Women in Bangladesh took to the streets demanding justice for rape, stricter punishment for offenders, and the resignation of Home Affairs Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury.

Students and teachers from different universities across the country also demonstrated against the recent rape incidents, including that of an eight-year-old in Magura who is currently fighting for her life, and demanded exemplary punishment for the perpetrators of the crime, local media in Bangladesh reported.

During the demonstrations, Dhaka University Professor Tasneem Siraj Mahboob called for the dismissal of the Home Affairs Advisor instead of his resignation, emphasising that she had demanded this months ago.

“Resignation is an honourable exit. He doesn’t deserve that honour,” she was quoted as saying by the country’s leading daily, The Dhaka Tribune.

The various political outfits that earlier joined hands to overthrow the democratically elected government of Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina have criticised the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus for the failing law and order situation and the rising incidence of violence against women across Bangladesh.

Addressing a rally on Monday, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Senior Joint Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi alleged that the rise in incidents of rape and violence against women in the country is due to the present administration’s inaction, according to a report by United News of Bangladesh.

“Why is this situation arising under the current interim government? If the administration had functioned properly, incidents of rape, murder, injuries, and corruption would not have escalated,” he said.

Rizvi said that the reality now is that the number of rape incidents has increased, and women are not safe anywhere in the country.

Addressing the media on Sunday, the radical outfit Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar told The Dhaka Tribune, “Women and children are not safe anywhere today — be it on buses, trains, launches, offices, homes, schools, or madrasas. The situation in the country is much worse than what is reflected in newspapers and the media.”

Several cases of violence against women have been reported from across Bangladesh since the Muhammad Yunus-led interim regime came to power in August 2024. The incompetence of the interim government in curbing gender-based violence sparked public outrage, with students demanding the resignation of Jahangir Alam Chowdhury and the interim government accountable for degrading the law and order situation across the nation.

Mumbai: City-based advocate Gregory D’Souza, who notarised the Will of Peter Mukerjea and Indrani Mukerjea related to a flat in New Delhi, could not identify the documents in the court on Monday.

Trial Resumes

The trial in the Sheena Bora murder case has resumed on a daily basis and Indrani, the deceased’s mother, is a key accused. As per the said Will, Peter had transferred his half-share to Indrani, who had bequeathed the entire flat in the name of Sheena in September 2004.

The prosecution, on Monday, examined D’Souza, a notary advocate, as its 97th witness. As per the prosecution’s case, Peter and Indrani owned a three bedroomkitchen flat in New Delhi. On September 15, 2004, Peter bequeathed half of his share to Indrani. On the same day, Indrani bequeathed her own share and the share given to her by Peter to Sheena, mentioning her daughter as her “sister”.

These two documents were notarised by D’Souza. The CBI had also claimed that in the register that they had to maintain, there was no signature of Peter Mukerjea and the document only had Indrani’s signature. When questioned about the said discrepancies in 2016, when the case was being investigated, D’Souza could not respond.

On Monday, when he was shown the copies of the Will, he was unable to identify them and claimed that the documents were not the original ones and were just photocopies. It is alleged that after Sheena got engaged to Peter’s son Rahul, Indrani decided to remove her name from the Will. It is also alleged that Sheena had been blackmailing Indrani to give her the flat, threatening to expose their actual relationship.

Indrani’s driver Shyamwar Rai, also an accused, had in his confession claimed that at the time of allegedly killing Sheena, Indrani had allegedly said, “Sheena got her 3BHK flat”. As per the prosecution’s case, Indrani, her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna, and driver Shyamwar Rai strangled Sheena in a car on April 24, 2012.

It is alleged that the body was later stuffed in a bag, and kept overnight in the garage and set on fire in Pen Village the next day. The case came to light after the arrest of Rai for carrying an illegal weapon in 2015. During interrogation, Rai revealed the murder plot.

Hyderabad, March 11: In a tragic incident, a couple died by suicide after killing their two children, aged 10 and 15 years, allegedly due to financial problems in Hyderabad.

Police found four bodies from the couple’s house in Ravindra Nagar colony in Habsiguda under the limits of Osmania University Police Station on Monday night.

Chandrasekhar Reddy (44) and his wife Kavitha (35) are suspected to have strangled their son Vishwan Reddy (10) and daughter Shrita Reddy (15), before hanging themselves.

Shrita Reddy was a ninth class student while Vishwan Reddy was studying in fifth standard.

A police officer said they rushed to the spot on receiving a Dial 100 call. They found the bodies of the man and his wife in separate rooms. Their children were lying dead on a bed.

Police also recovered a suicide note written by Chandrasekhar Reddy. The man wrote in the note that nobody was responsible for his death and that of his family.

“I had no other option but to end my life. Please forgive me. I have been struggling in my career and suffering mentally and physically. I have been suffering from diabetes, nerve and kidney related issues,” he said in the note, written in Telugu.

Police shifted the bodies to Gandhi Hospital for autopsy and took up the investigation.

Preliminary investigations by the police revealed that the family originally hailed from Kalwakurthy in Mahabubnagar district and had migrated to Hyderabad about a year ago.

Chandrasekhar Reddy worked as a junior lecturer in a private college for a few months. He was jobless for about six months and with no source of income, the family was facing financial hardships.

Circle Inspector N. Rajender said they registered a case of deaths under suspicious circumstances and took up the investigation.

He said the exact cause of the death of the children would be known after receiving the autopsy report.