Attack on mountaineer Shayla: Case to be filed after attacker identified, family says

The case regarding the attack on Bangladeshi mountaineer and journalist Shayla Parvin Bithi will be filed once the attackers are identified, the victim’s family members have said. 

Bithi was attacked by an unidentified person in Dhanmondi on 20 September. 

Her husband, Taimur Faruk Tushar, also a journalist, told The Business Standard that the attack occurred at 2:10pm as Shayla was crossing the footbridge near Mother Care Hospital on Dhanmondi 27.

“Someone suddenly attacked her from behind, grabbing her by the hair and beating her,” Taimur said. 

“We still don’t know why she was attacked or who the person was,” he added.

He also mentioned that the police might obtain CCTV footage from nearby markets and streets, expressing hope that this would help identify and apprehend the attacker.

Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mozammel Haque told TBS the complainant did not want to file a case. 

“So we have registered the complaint as a general diary,” he said. 

When asked if there was any progress in arresting the accused, Mozammel Haque said the complainant could not identify anyone in the CCTV footage. 

It is also not clear what exactly led to any attack, he said.

Following the incident, Shayla Parvin filed a complaint at the Sher-e Bangla Nagar Police Station.

Contacted, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner Ziaul Haque said they are looking into the incident and will take legal action accordingly. 

Mountaineer Shayla has conquered the 6,332-metre-high Dolma Khang peak of the Himalayas in 2022. She became the first Bangladeshi woman to climb the mountain.