Khadiza still critical
Protests, condemnation pour in; Badrul confesses to murder attempt
Students, right activists and political leaders as well as common people yesterday protested and condemned Mondays gruesome attack on Sylhet college girl Khadiza Akhter Nargis by a Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) leader.
They also demanded capital punishment for the attacker, Badrul Alam, a BCL leader of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), who confessed to hacking Khadiza with the intention to kill her.
Women and children affairs minister, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman, BNP secretary general and several incumbent and former MPs visited Khadiza at Square Hospital in the capital where she was undergoing treatment amid life support yesterday.
In protest against the attack on Khadiza, students of the victims collegeSylhet Government Mahila Collegeorganised protest rallies that started out from the college and marched through the main streets of the city yesterday.
During the protests, seven vehicles were vandalised. The students sought capital punishment for Badrul and also demanded that the authorities ensure security for female students.
People from all walks of life expressed solidarity with the protesters. Vehicular movement on some of the main streets was halted for an hour in the morning yesterday. Students of various educational institutions are scheduled to hold protest programmes today.
The Habiganj district unit of Chhatra Dal, BNPs associate student body, held a demonstration to register protest against the attack on Khadiza. Its members demanded capital punishment for Badrul.
After visiting Khadiza, state Minister for Women and Children Affairs, Meher Afroz Chumki, and the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Kazi Reazul Hoque, yesterday urged the law enforcement agencies to press charges against Badrul Alam as soon as possible.
Badrul Alam would not be spared, said the state minister. It does not matter which party he belongs to. The government is following a zero tolerance policy in the case of assaults on women and children, she said.
Columnist Syed Abul Maksud, who visited Square Hospital in the evening, observed that such incidents, which were earlier isolated ones, have become common now and must be stopped as soon as possible.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, after visiting Khadiza yesterday noon, said such incidents were taking place as the government was giving shelter to criminals. The attack on Khadiza was a serious crime against humanity, he added.
In a press briefing, Nari Mukti Kendra demanded exemplary punishment for Badrul Alam.
Relatives of the grievously injured Sylhet student, who has been on post-operative life support at the capitals Square Hospital, are undergoing trying times as Khadizas condition remained unchanged yesterday.
Doctors have repeatedly iterated that nothing can be said before 72 hours. The timeframe would end this afternoon and Khadizas family is eagerly waiting for the moment when they can hear some positive news about her health.
Khadizas uncle Abdul Kuddus told The Independent: Doctors told me to be hopeful. She might recover. But we are very anxious as 72 hours have not yet elapsed.
Talking to the journalists yesterday, Dr Rejaus Sattar, associate consultant (neurosurgery) at Square Hospital, said the patient is on inactive ventilation on life support and will be under observation for 72 hours. Further neurological scans of signs of consciousness will dictate the next course of action, he added.
Earlier, Sattar had said, Given Khadizas current condition, she has a 5 to 10 per cent chance of staying alive.
Because of the severity of the injuries she has sustained, the results of the surgery could not be assessed immediately. She would be given orthopaedic treatment once her physical condition improves, he had added.
Khadiza was initially admitted to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital, where she underwent surgery. During the night, she was shifted to Square Hospital. Her condition is critical, as she has suffered gashes all over her body when she was hacked.
Doctors said her skull has been ruptured and she has sustained brain injuries. She has sustained deep cuts on her hands as she had tried to defend herself. The four-hour-long second phase of the operation was conducted from Tuesday noon to afternoon at Square Hospital. After that, she had been kept under observation for 72 hours.
Earlier, on Monday, Khadiza, 23-year-old daughter of Masuk Miah of Biswanath upazila in Sylhet, was hacked by Badrul on her way home from college after she spurned his proposal for an affair with him.
On hearing the victims screams, locals rescued Khadija and caught Badrul Alam red-handed from the spot. They handed him over to police after beating him up.
Meanwhile, Badrul Alam gave a confessional statement on the murder attempt under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) before the additional chief metropolitan magistrates court of Sharaban Tahura in Sylhet.
The court recorded his hour-long statement that started around 3:30pm.
Badrul was produced before the court at 3:15pm amid tight security from Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital where Badrul is undergoing treatment under police custody.
