Fiction that strikes the bone

Nila Roy, a Class 10 student, was making her way to the hospital with her elder brother in the Bank Colony area of Savar on an ordinary September day back in 2020. All of a sudden, she was attacked and brutally stabbed to death by a young boy named Mizanur Rahman.

- AYESHA HUMAYRA WARESA

Nila Roy, a Class 10 student, was making her way to the hospital with her elder brother in the Bank Colony area of Savar on an ordinary September day back in 2020. All of a sudden, she was attacked and brutally stabbed to death by a young boy named Mizanur Rahman. Investigation revealed that Mizan had been persistently stalking and harassing Nila for a long time. Upon facing rejection, he resorted to fatal violence.

Fast forward to May 2023, Mukti Rani Barman, 15, was similarly attacked when walking home from school in Netrakona. Her stalker, 19-year-old Kawser Mia, had been harassing her for some time. After Mukti rejected his advances, he responded with a brutal, public stabbing that claimed her life.

Now, if you have binged Netflix's global hit Adolescence, Nila and Mukti's cases might sound eerily familiar, no?

Although this British drama is not based on real events, its unsettling portrayal of online misogyny, toxic masculinity, and the rise of the manosphere might remind you that while Adolescence is fiction, the murders of Nila and Mukti are not.

Tightly shot, masterfully plotted, and emotionally gripping, the four-part miniseries gained massive global attention almost immediately after its release. As the story unfolds, 14-year-old Jamie Miller is arrested on suspicion of murdering his classmate, Katie Leonard.

At first,