[STATEMENT] Govt should apologise for baby being shot in mother’s womb during AL factional clash: Ershad

Frustrated with the recent incidents of child abuse across Bangladesh, the former military dictator demanded capital punishment for the guilty.

“I am stunned to see how brutal people can be. Baby shot in mother’s womb…how can that happen? The government should apologise,” said Ershad, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s special envoy.

Supporters of Magura Juba League activist Kamrul Bhuiyan clashed with former Juba League supporters Mohammad Ali and ‘Ajibor’ on July 23.

A stray bullet had hit 30-year-old Najma Begum, the pregnant wife of Kamrul’s brother, and their neighbour Miraz Hossain.

Kamrul’s uncle Abdul Momin was killed in the incident.

Doctors in Magura performed surgery on Najma to save her child that night.

The infant was transferred to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) two days later.

A bullet had passed through the right side of the child’s body but did not damage any vital organ. The baby girl and the mother are now out of danger, said doctors at the DMCH.

On Thursday, Ershad met the mother and daughter at the hospital.

Referring to recent incidents of torture and murder of minors, he urged the government to ensure the most stringent and exemplary punishments for those responsible.

“In the last three years, 767 children died across the country. All this is happening because the perpetrators know they will go scot-free,” Ershad said while speaking to reporters at the hospital.

Ershad, a suspect in the case of the 1981 murder of Major General MA Manzur, expressed disappointment over the ‘culture of impunity’.

“Such incidents would have been fewer had there been justice. But I doubt if there will be any deterrent,” he said.

Asked who were responsible for the culture of impunity, Ershad blamed society as a whole.

“The society wasn’t like this before. We were never brutal. The society needs change and the Jatiya Party can bring that about,” he said.

Source: Bdnews24