Beaten allegedly over 'too little food' from her parents' home, pregnant Patiya housewife Sifatun dies after nine days in ICU
In Patiya, Chattogram, pregnant housewife Sifatun Nur (22) has died in hospital nine days after she was allegedly beaten at her in-laws' home over bringing too little homemade food from her father's house.
She died at around 1:30pm on Friday (23 October) while undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Chattogram Medical College (CMC) Hospital. Her father Md Nur confirmed the death.
Family sources said Sifatun was the youngest of Md Nur's two sons and one daughter; the family lives in Chandanish municipality. About five months ago she was married, in a family-arranged match, to Dubai expatriate Md Tarek (26), son of the late Abdul Sabur of Ilias Khan Bari in Purba Kusumpura village of Kusumpura union, Patiya.
Her husband has been abroad since the marriage, and Sifatun lived at her in-laws' home. Her family alleges she had faced physical and mental torture there since the wedding.
On 14 October, Sifatun's mother Juhinur Akter (55) filed a written complaint at Patiya police station against three people including her daughter's mother-in-law, alleging that both mother and daughter were beaten.
According to the written complaint, at around 7:30pm on 14 October Juhinur Akter took homemade food to her daughter's in-laws' home. An argument broke out over the allegation that the amount of food was too small.
At one point, mother-in-law Rijia Begum (60) beat her, while Rasheda Begum (55) and Sumi Akter (52) grabbed Sifatun by the hair, threw her to the ground and beat her, the complaint says. Hearing screams, neighbours rushed in and rescued mother and daughter.
The family says Sifatun's condition deteriorated that night and she was admitted to CMC Hospital, where she remained unconscious in the ICU. After nine days of treatment there, she died on Friday.
The bereaved family claims that after the beating, the in-laws tried to divert the matter by claiming Sifatun had attempted suicide.
Her father has demanded a proper investigation to uncover the truth and legal action against those responsible. Grief has descended on the family after her death.
Patiya police station officer-in-charge Md Ziaul Haque said: 'A complaint of beating that housewife was received on 14 October. I have learned she died while under treatment in hospital. Those found guilty will face legal action after investigation.'
After Sifatun's death, the beating complaint is expected to be investigated with greater gravity. The family hopes the police investigation will bring out what actually happened.
