Woman injects HIV virus in Bangladesh

by Special Correspondent
July 15, 2011

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1590/woman-injects-hiv-virus-in-bangladesh

Bedana Begum, aged 36 lives in Sylhet, eastern district in Bangladesh. She is known in the locality as someone carrying HIV positive. Fifteen years back, Bedana Begum married Abdul Gafur of the nearby village. Abdul Gafur was also a drug dealer and was addicted to women. It is told in the locality that, Gafur was infected HIV virus by having physical relations with one of those local females, who worked in the Middle East as domestic help for few years and was returned home in 2002 by her employer. On returning home, the woman entered into extra-marital relations with Gafur. In 2003, Gafur died of aids. Following death of Bedana's husband, locals sent her for blood test, where she also was diagnosed as HIV positive.

Though Bedana Begum was sent to a local HIV counseling center, she was released after counseling for 6 months. Since then, the woman was residing in various areas in Sylhet district and operated mini brothel by keeping 4-5 young girls. Bedana Begum was also attending clients suppressing the fact of carrying HIV virus. She reportedly got all the 4-5 young girls at her mini brothel with HIV virus with the goal of spreading the disease to others. It is also told that, Bedana Begum was selling drugs in her mini brothel.

By hiding the fact of carrying HIV positive, Bedana managed to marry five times. It is anticipated that, Bedana Begum has succeeded in infecting at least a few hundred people during 2003-2011. But all such infections took place through establishing physical relations with her clients or letting those HIV positive sex workers at her mini brothel mix with men.

During last week of June, Bedana Begum used her own musclemen in abducting a local labor named Kanchan Miah. This time, HIV positive blood was forcefully injected into body of Kanchan Miah. Later Kanchan Miah was also diagnosed as HIV positive. He reported the matter with local police station. Following this complaint, Bedana Begum was arrested by local police.

During interrogation, Bedana Begum said, since she was infected with HIV virus from her husband, she wanted to get as much as people infected to this deadly disease. She said, "I have infected a few hundred people by directly having physical relations with them or by using my own sex workers [who were injected HIV blood]. I want people to feel the pain of being HIV positive."

On condition of anonymity, a source in the locality told Weekly Blitz that, Bedana Begum was picked up by white-clothe men, when military controlled government came in power in 2007. The source said, during late hours of May 2007, few men came at the village and picked up Bedana Begum. She returned home after 6 days. On her return, Bedana Begum told people that, those people who picked her up during late hours, showed very good behavior with her. The men drove her to a place, where she was kept inside an isolated house. She anticipated the place to be somewhere outside Sylhet district.

Bedana Begum also received a handsome amount of money from them in exchange of two bags of her blood. She said those people were already aware of Bedana Begum carrying HIV positive virus. Those people came back to Bedana Begum on a number of times and purchased her blood in exchange of money.

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