Rape and murder of a Hindu woman in Bangladesh

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
Radha Rani Halder [28] was a field executive with a local non-governmantal organization named Shariatpur Development Society [SDS]. She was gang raped and brutally slaughtered on 28th June at about 11 in the morning [local time].

On the same day, early in the morning, she went to local areas for collecting dues of micro credit from two villages. But, as she did not return till 6 pm, he colleagues and relatives turned concerned. Three hours later, her slaughtered body was found inside a cultivation field belonging to Arshad Ali Bepari near Baish Rashi village.

SDC Sector Chief –Kamrul Hasan Badal lodged a case at Shariatpur Sadar Police station for murder of this Hindu women and her body was sent to Sadar Hospital for post mortem autopsy.

In the complaint no name of the rapists or killers were mentioned.

Despite lodging of the formal case with the police station, evidences were not sent for post-mortem autopsy to finally prove the case of rape, as local infleuntial people are continuing to pressurize police to some how ´cool down´ the entire episode.

Radha Rani was married on May 10, 2009 to Dipankar Bairagee and were living happy life with her husband.

It is also alleged in the First Information Report [FIR] lodged by SDC staff that more than TK. 37,000 [US$ 550] along with a gold chain and ear rings were looted before the murder.


Some minority activists in Bangladesh are suspecting that Radha Rani Halder was gang-raped before murder while she was collecting loan installments from the local borrowers.

On the other hand, it is alleged by several locals that a few minority activists are trying to cash the incident with imaginary facts and figures just to create ´sensation´ in the minds of prospective foreign donors. Weekly Blitz also have received several documental evidences on such twisting of information by a number of minority activists in the country.

Since the new government in Dhaka came in power in January 2009 under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina as the Prime Minister, it was always expected by people that religious minorities will be safer during the tenure of this new government as Awami League claims to be a secular political party. But, the track record of minority repression is no better than any previous governments in the country.

The present government is yet to lift the ban on publications of Ahmediya community in Bangladesh. Religious books of Ahmediya community were banned by the previous Islamist coalition government at the demand of religious fanatics and millitants.
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Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is an award winning anti Jihadist Muslim journalist in Bangladesh.

He is the editor of Weekly Blitz. This newspaper has both print and online edition reaching mostly policymakers, politicians, entrepreneurs, students, think tanks, civil and millitary officials, clergies and cross section of people in the world.

Weekly Blitz is the largest and most infleutial English language newspaper published in Bangladesh. Online edition of the only anti Jihadist newspaper in the Muslim world is available on www.weeklyblitz.net

Journalist, writer, poet, lyricist, author, film director, political analyst and peace activist, Choudhury, started his career in journalism in 1989 as the Correspondent of TASS, state news agency of Soviet Union. Later he was promoted as the Chief Correspodent of Itar-Tass in Bangladesh.

On November 29, 2003, he was arrested at Zia International Airport in Bangladesh on his way to Israel to attend a peace conference. Choudhury was tortured, imprisoned and denied medical treatment in prison. Government brought sedition, treason and blasphemy charges against him for confronting religious extremism, advocating inter-faith dialogue and demanding relations between Dhaka and Jerusalem. He was released on April 30, 2005 after imprisonment of seventeen months.

Although released on bail, Choudhury continues to face sedition, treason and blasphemy charges and the trial continues in a court in Dhaka. Sedition bears capital punishment [death penalty] according to law in Bangladesh.

Choudhury is the recipient of PEN USA Freedom to Write Award in 2005; American Jewish Committee's Moral Courage Award in 2006; Monaco Media Award in 2007 and Key to Englewood City [NJ, USA] in 2007.

He has written a number of books on various issues. His book titled 'Injustice and Jihad' was published in October 2007. Italian publication house Neftasia Editore has published Choudhury's book titled 'Non Sono Colpevole' in May 2008.

Choudhury's latest book titled 'Inside Madrassa', which contains descriptive and elaborate information on condition of Madrassas in Bangladesh, Pakistan and other Muslim nations has been published in October 2009. This book is a result of comprehensive research by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury for several years. Interested people can buy a copy of this book by contacting Blitz Publications, ediblitz@yahoo.com

In today's world, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is perhaps the most quoted Bangladeshi journalist in the international media.

The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Sun, The Washington Times, The Australian, The Berliner Zeitung, The Jewish State, The Jewish Week, The Guardian and many other leading international and regional dailies and periodicals have published numerous editorials on Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury.

Office of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury's newspaper, Weekly Blitz was bombed by Islamist millitants in Dhaka [Bangladesh] in July 2006.

On October 5, 2006, armed terrorists attacked the his office and physically assaulted him.

On 18th March 2008, members of Rapid Action Battalion [infamous of extra-judicial murders] abducted Mr. Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury at gun point from his office. He was blind-folded and physically assaulted. Because of quick actions by US Peace Activist Dr. Richard L Benkin and Rep. Mark Steven Kirk and other esteemed members of United States Congress, Choudhury escaped RAB's deathtrap.

On February 22, 2009, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury's newspaper office was once again attacked by the armed thugs belonging to ruling party. He and his staffs were physically assaulted and the attackers looted his laptop along with two manuscripts of his un-published books.

US Congress, European Parliament, Australian Senate passed resolutions demanding dropping of the false case of Mr. Choudhury and to give him proper security and stop all forms of harrassments. But, Bangladeshi authorities in Dhaka, instead of showing minimum respect to such calls, withdrew police protection from the residence of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury in May 2008.

Shoaib Choudhury is a permanent member of PENUSA; Advisory Board Member of Islam-Israel Fellowship; Director, Forcefield NFP.

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is regularly invited by many prestigious institutions in the world for giving lecture on the topic of his work. Yale University [New Haven, USA], Rutgers University [New Jersey, USA] and Hudson Institute [NYC] invited Choudhury to give lectures during October and November 2009.