'Hindu women raped in Bangladesh'

DHAKA, OCT. 24. A Bangladeshi women's group today said minority Hindu people in the predominantly Muslim country had been subjected to rape, looting and other abuse since a new government assumed office this month.

``We have come across at least 10 women from the minority Hindu community who have been raped by political activists from the ruling party,'' said Maleka Banu, general secretary of the Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (women's council).

``In one village, criminals entered the house of a Hindu family and raped a woman and her daughter simultaneously in the same room,'' she told a news conference in Dhaka.

Leaders of the council, including Muslims and Hindus, issued a statement describing other cases of abuse and alleging that police and local authorities had refused to come to the help of the victims.

``In one place, six women were abducted and confined to a hideout for seven days and raped by gangsters every day,'' the statement said. The group also reported torture, looting, arson and forcible eviction of minority families.The council demanded immediate action by the Khaleda Zia Government for the sake of justice and communal harmony.

- Reuters

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