JusticeMakers Bangladesh calls for justice after transgender person murdered
No arrests have been made after transgender drummer Babul Mridha was murdered Sept. 4
JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) is calling for justice after the brutal murder of Babul Mridha (60), a drummer in a transgender hijra group, in Naria, Bangladesh.
In South Asian countries, hijra is a term for transgender or third gender people who live in defined kinship communities.
According to reports published in various newspapers in Bangladesh, Mridha was brutally murdered on the night of September 4 at the residence where she lived as a tenant for the last 18 years.
In the middle of the night, unidentified individuals entered Mridha’s home by breaking a window. They attacked Mridha with sharp weapons, inflicting severe injuries on various parts of her body.
Upon hearing her cries, other transgender Hijra individuals and local residents rushed to the scene. The attackers fled after injuring Mridha, who later died due to bleeding from her injuries.
The police recovered the body from the crime scene and conducted a post-mortem examination at Sharitatpur Sadar Hospital. Later, a case in connection with this incident was registered with the Naria Police Station against unknown individuals.
To date, the police have not uncovered the motives behind the murder, and no one has been arrested in relation to the murder.
Shahanur Islam, a prominent human rights lawyer and the Founder and President of JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), is deeply aggrieved by the lack of progress in the investigation. He urges the authorities in Bangladesh to prioritize this case, apprehend the culprits involved, and ensure the safety and protection of all individuals, regardless of their gender identity and sexual orientation.
He says that Mridha is part of a marginalized and often vulnerable community in Bangladeshi society. The circumstances surrounding her murder, which took place at her residence due to her involvement with transgender communities are alarming and raise questions about the safety and security of transgender individuals in Bangladesh.
JMBF calls upon Bangladeshi authorities to ensure the rights and protection of LGBT people in Bangladesh by enacting the Protection of Sexual Minority People Act after repealing Section 377 of the Bangladesh Penal Code, which criminalizes consensual gay sex, as soon as possible.
You can read JusticeMakers Bangladesh’s statement here.
