A fourth-grader was killed after reportedly being raped in Lalitnagar village of Godagari upazila of Rajshahi district early on Saturday.
The deceased was identified as Sumaiya Khatun, 11, daughter of Anwar Hossain of the village.
Mahmudul Hasan, OC of Godagari Kakonhat police camp, said Sumaiya had gone to bed after watching TV on Saturday night.
When her parents woke up in the morning, they did not find her in her room.
After a frantic search, they found the body of Sumaiya under a pile of paddy husk.
On information, police recovered the body and sent it to the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital morgue.
Police suspect that the girl was killed after being raped sometime during the night.
Police are trying to identify the culprits, said the OC.
Bangladesh's rape epidemic
Sexual assaults on women continue unabated in Bangladesh, despite the government introducing death penalty for rapes last year.
Last month, a Police Headquarters report said 26,695 rape cases were filed across the country in the past five years.
Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) data shows that 1,018 children were raped last year alone, but only 683 police cases had been filed. Also, 116 survivors were six years old or below.
Overall, 1,627 rape cases were reported last year and 53 of the women were killed by the perpetrators while 14 took their own lives, as per the data.
However, ASK data is just the tip of the iceberg, according to aid agencies, who report that most women are too afraid to report rapes.
In October 2020, the country was rocked by protests after a woman was allegedly attacked and raped in Noakhali.
In November last year, Bangladesh introduced capital punishment for rape, following days of protests against sexual violence against women in several cities across the country.
