Warning: This article contains details some readers may find distressing
An eight-year-old child who was raped in Bangladesh died of her injuries on Thursday, setting off fierce protests around the country.
The girl was raped while visiting her elder sister’s house in the city of Magura some time between the night of 5 March and the following morning, according to a case filed by her mother.
The elder sister’s 18-year-old husband, along with his parents and brother, were arrested and placed on remand.
On Thursday night, after hearing news of the child’s death, an angry mob descended on the house where the incident is alleged to have taken place, setting it on fire.
The girl died at about 13:00 local time (07:00 GMT) on Thursday after suffering three cardiac arrests, according to a statement by the government’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) department.
“Although doctors managed to stabilize the condition twice, the heart failed to restart after the third episode,” the statement said.
She had spent six days in a critical condition at the Combined Military Hospital in the capital Dhaka, after being admitted on 8 March.
“I thought my daughter would survive,” her mother said following the girl’s death, according to local media. “If she had made it through, I would never have let her go anywhere alone again.”
