15 September 2024 | Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
On the night of 11 September 2024, several Hijra and transgender people visiting the Sugandha Point area of Cox’s Bazar sea beach were subjected to physical assault and public humiliation. According to the victims’ complaint, Arohi Islam, Priya Moni and others accompanying them were at the beach when a group led by Md. Farukul Islam stopped them. Farukul reportedly introduced himself as a coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and questioned why they were at the beach. He and his associates then accused them of engaging in immoral activities and harassing people at the beach, verbally abused them and assaulted them with sticks. According to the case filed over the attack, Farukul repeatedly struck Arohi Islam and Priya Moni, while another accused, Nayan Rudra, hit Arohi on her right arm with a stick, causing a fracture. Media reports also stated that Priya Moni was pregnant at the time of the attack.
During the attack, the victims were publicly forced to hold their ears and perform sit-ups while being threatened and beaten with a stick. Video footage that circulated widely on social media showed a group of people surrounding one of the victims while Farukul stood nearby holding a stick and ordered the person to perform sit-ups while holding her ears. When she expressed difficulty complying, she was struck with the stick. Several people at the scene filmed the humiliation on their mobile phones, and the footage was subsequently circulated on social media. The complaint also alleged that another victim, identified as Khushi, was sexually harassed when her clothes were pulled during the attack and that a mobile phone belonging to the victims was taken.
Arohi Islam subsequently filed a case at Cox’s Bazar Sadar Model Police Station on 14 September. The complaint identified Arohi and the other victims and witnesses as third-gender people. Md. Farukul Islam and Md. Nayan Rudra were named as accused, along with five to six unidentified individuals. Cox’s Bazar Detective Branch police had detained Farukul on the night of 13 September after videos of the public assault and humiliation circulated widely on social media. Police said he was identified through the footage and that, during preliminary questioning, he admitted his involvement in the incident. He was subsequently produced before a court and sent to jail, while the investigating officer sought a five-day remand for further questioning.
Although Farukul had presented himself during the incident as a coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, representatives of the movement in Cox’s Bazar said that he was not one of their coordinators. The case and subsequent reporting established that those targeted in the attack included Hijra and transgender people, even though several of the earliest media reports described the victims simply as “women.” Later reporting based on the police case explicitly identified Arohi Islam and the other victims and witnesses as third-gender people.
References
ATN Bangla News — Video Report on the Cox’s Bazar Beach Assault
Prothom Alo — গ্রেপ্তার ফারুকুলকে জিজ্ঞাসাবাদের জন্য পাঁচ দিনের রিমান্ড চায় পুলিশ
Ajker Patrika — কক্সবাজার সৈকতে হেনস্তার শিকার ব্যক্তিরা তৃতীয় লিঙ্গের
Ajker Patrika — কক্সবাজার সৈকতে নারীকে মারধর ও কান ধরিয়ে ওঠবসের ঘটনায় মামলা
Channel i — সৈকতে নারী হেনস্তার ঘটনায় মামলা; যুবক গ্রেপ্তার
Samakal — লাঠি হাতে নারীদের মারধর করা যুবকের পরিচয় মিলেছে
Jamuna Television — কক্সবাজারে নারী হেনস্তার ভিডিও ভাইরাল
Bangladesh Pratidin — নারীকে লাঞ্ছনায় সেই যুবক ডিবি হেফাজতে
Jago News 24 — সৈকতে নারীকে হেনস্তা, ‘সমন্বয়ক’ পরিচয় দেওয়া যুবক কারাগারে
Bangla Tribune — কক্সবাজার সৈকতে হিজড়াকে মারধর করা সেই তরুণ পুলিশ হেফাজতে
