A grieving mother staged a human chain in Jhalakathi on Monday, holding the body of her 13-month-old daughter and demanding justice.
The protest took place in the afternoon on Purba Bhautita Road in Ponabalia Union under Jhalakathi Sadar Upazila. The mother, Lia Moni Akhter, alleged that her daughter Jasmine’s death was caused by the child’s father, Hridoy Bepari. She demanded the death penalty for him.
Family members, including Lia Moni’s father Md. Faruk Hossain Majhi, mother Poli Begum, and other relatives, joined the protest and spoke in support of her demands.
According to the family, Lia Moni had a relationship with Hridoy Bepari in 2021. She later became pregnant. On February 16, 2025, she gave birth to a baby girl via cesarean section at Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barisal. The family alleges that Hridoy and his relatives promised marriage at that time.
They further claim that on February 19, while returning home from the hospital, Hridoy Bepari and his relatives took the newborn and later abandoned the mother by the roadside. The baby was reportedly rescued by a passerby and later placed in a children’s home.
After legal procedures, including DNA verification, the child was returned to the family and admitted to Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital on March 9 in critical condition.
The child died on Monday morning while undergoing treatment.
Earlier, on March 9, Lia Moni filed a case at Jhalakathi Sadar Police Station against Hridoy Bepari and three others, alleging rape. The accused remains absconding.
However, Abul Bepari, father of the accused, denied the allegations.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) Imtiaz Ahmed of Jhalakathi Sadar Police Station confirmed that a case has been filed. Police are conducting operations to arrest the accused.
