Several people have apparently ambushed and set fire to a 19-year-old in Bangladesh. The report several media consistently. The student named Nusrat Jahan Rafi had two weeks earlier accused her headmaster of having sexually harassed her. The young woman died from her burns five days after the attack.
As the British broadcaster BBC reports, the young woman testified that the head of a school of Islamic sciences had asked her to come to his office on March 27. Therefore, several times he touched her inappropriately, whereupon she ran from the office.
That same day, the 19-year-old reportedly made a statement to the police. An official made a video of Nusrat Jahan Rafi. Apparently, he told the young woman that the incident was "no big deal." According to the BBC, the video was leaked and released by local media.
The headmaster was reportedly arrested. Several people are protesting in the street for his release. Nusrat Jahan Rafi is said to have been exposed to death threats, according to her family. She should drop her allegations.
Surrounded by four or five people
Eleven days after the alleged harassment, the 19-year-old went to her school for a final exam, according to the BBC. Her brother had wanted to accompany her, but he was not allowed to enter the grounds.
Another student is said to have lured Nusrat Jahan Rafi on a pretext to the blame. There she was surrounded by four or five people. Again she was asked to withdraw her allegations. When the young woman resisted, the group reportedly set her on fire.
80 percent of her skin burned, Nusrat Jahan Rafi died a few days later. Prior to her death she was able to identify some of the perpetrators as her classmates, according to the BBC.
According to local media, 18 people have been arrested. Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed assured the family to prosecute any person involved.
Human Rights Watch has reported protests since the death of the young woman across the country calling on the government to change the law on sexual harassment.
According to Human Rights Watch, victims of sexual harassment in Bangladesh often choose not to file a complaint, as they could be accused and humiliated in hospitals and police stations.