A teenager has been doused with kerosene and burnt to death after refusing to withdraw a sexual harassment complaint against her headteacher.
Nusrat Jahan Rafi was killed in the incident that has outraged Bangladesh after being taken to the roof of her school by a fellow student and attacked.
According to a statement she gave before her death, the 19-year-old was surrounded by four or five people wearing burqas who pressured her to drop the case.
When she refused, they set her on fire.Nusrat was taken to hospital where doctors found burns covering 80 per cent of her body.She recorded her last words on her brother’s phone saying: “The teacher touched me, I will fight this crime till my last breath.”She was transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and died on April 10.
The incident came after she filed a sexual harassment complaint to the police.According to Nusrat, she said she was called into her headmaster’s office where she claimed he repeatedly touched her in an inappropriate manner.
She ran away and told her family of the alleged sexual harassment and reported the incident to police on the same day, according to the BBC.
It’s said she was filmed by an officer on his phone as she was describing the molestation. Nusrat was said to be visibly distressed; whereas the police office reportedly told her the complaint ‘no big deal’.
Officers later arrested the headmaster, it is claimed. A group of people gathered leading to street protests demanding his release.
Nusrat’s death has sparked outrage across the country and police have launched an investigation into the incident.
Fifteen people have since been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Nusrat.
