e_Paper, Wednesday, May 17, 2017

24
WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2017
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TIGERS EYE MAIDEN AWAY WIN AGAINST
KIWIS AS MASHRAFE RETURNS › 18
YOUNG FILM MAKER RASEL
AHMED PASSES AWAY › 23
GANG RAPE OF GARO WOMAN
Aftermath of rape: How the justice
system fails women
• Md Sanaul Islam Tipu
It has been almost two years since a
21-year-old indigenous woman was
gang raped in a moving microbus
in Dhaka on May 22, 2015 but there
has been little or no progress in the
case.
The case is now pending with
the court of Judge SM Rezenur Rahman
of Dhaka Women and Children
Repression Prevention Tribunal-4,
as court sources claimed that witnesses
have failed to show up before
the court.
They also said the prosecution
lawyers have been negligent in fulfilling
their duty in regards to moving
the case forward.
On May 23, 2015 a case was filed
with the Vatara police station against
five individuals for gang raping the
young Garo women in a microbus
for over an hour before dropping her
off at Uttara, near her home.
The following day on May 24,
2015 a case was filed with the Vatara
police station against five individuals
including Ashraf Khan alias
Tushar and Jahidul Islam Lavlu.
Although the rape survivor filed
the case against five people, the investigating
officer of the case Assistant
Superintendent of Police (ASP)
of RAB Azmila Nasren Chowdhury
submitted a charge sheet accusing
only two people in the case.
On May 27, 2015, RAB arrested
Jahidul Islam Lavlu from Gulshan-1
and Tushar from Patuakhali’s
Kuakata and recovered the microbus
from Banani, Dhaka.
The duo admitted to raping the
young indigenous woman during
their confessional statement before
a magistrate under 164 of Code
of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
“On May 17, Tushar pretending to
be a senior official of a buying house
went to the store in Jamuna Future
Park where the rape survivor worked
as a sales person and asked her for
her resume offering her a better job.
They then exchanged phone
numbers. He had planned to rape
the young woman the same night
and shared his plan with his colleagues
– Lavlu and Firoz.
When that did not happen, he
changed his plans to May 18, but
the young woman declined his offer
to meet him.
On May 21, Tushar asked the
young woman to wait at Kuril bus
stand after work,” said RAB’s Director
(legal and media wing) Mufti
Mahmud Khan.
Tushar arrived at the bus stand
at 9:30pm in a microbus that Lavlu
was driving. They pulled up and
asked the young woman if she recongised
him and asked her if she
needed a lift home.
When she refused to a ride from
Tushar he forcefully pulled her into
the vehicle where both the men repeatedly
gang raped her for over an
hour while driving on and around
Kuril Flyover.
They threatened to throw her
off the moving vehicle every time
the young woman tried to scream
for help, police said.
The rape survivor faced another
hurdle trying to file a case as she
went between two police stations
Gulshan and Turag who claimed it
was out of their jurisdiction.
After a rape test, forensic doctors
at Dhaka Medical College Hospital
on May 23, 2015 confirmed
the young woman had been gang
raped.
The Dhaka Tribune had asked
RAB Additional Director General
(operations) Ziaul Ahsan why only
two men were charged with rape
when a case was filed against five
individuals, and he said: “It might
be a mistake since the girl was traumatised
following the rape.”
Meanwhile court’s Special Public
prosecutor Md Forkan Miah denied
the allegations of negligence
in pushing the case forward even
after two years.
“We are trying our best to complete
the trial soon.
“What can we do if the witnesses
are not showing up to give their
deposition,” he added.
There was some progress in the
case, he said, as 17 testimonies of
prosecution witness have already
been recorded by the court out of
a total 22.
Three people including the accused
security guard gave their
statements before the magistrates
under section 22 of Women and
Children Repression Prevention
Act-2000.
Rights activists expressed disappointment
over the slow progress
of the case.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, Fahmida
Akhert Rinky, counsel of
Bangladesh National Woman Lawyer’s
Association said: “It has been
almost two years and very little
progress has been made, which is
very disappointing.”
She also alleged the prosecution
lawyers were not actually very interesting
in pushing the case forward. •
Murder case lodged against Test skipper Mushfiqur’s father
He has been allegedly running a primary school on another school’s campus
• Nazmul Huda Nasim, Bogra
A murder case was filed against
Bangladesh Test skipper Mushfiqur
Rahim’s father, Mahbub Hamid
Tara, his brother Mejbah-ul-Hamid,
a local municipality councillor of
Awami League, and 14 others in
connection with the killing of teenager
Mashuk Ferdous on Sunday.
The victim’s father, Emdadul
Haq, filed the case with Bogra Sadar
police station on Tuesday evening.
In the case statement, the plaintiff
alleged that Mahbub was involved
in the killing of his son over
previous enmity regarding a position
in the managing committee of
Matidali High School in Bogra town.
Emdad also said a teenage
neighbour Nayeem Hossain and
Anik took Mashuk out in the Matidali
area around 8:30pm on Saturday,
as planned by Mahbub, Mejbah
and their aides two days ago.
Later, Mashuk was found lying
A festoon says that Mahbub Hamid is the head of the managing committees of the
schools and Mushfiqur Rahim is sponsoring the primary school DHAKA TRIBUNE
near his home with grievous head
injuries. He was taken to a local
hospital where he was declared
dead the same night.
After the murder, Mahbub
claimed that he had no rivalry with
Emdad and condemned the incident,
demanding punishment of
the killers.
Emdad is an executive member of
Jasad (Hasanul Haq Inu-led faction).
Two schools, one building, one
president
Meanwhile, our Bogra correspondent
found that Mahbub has reportedly
been running a primary
school called Barnali Bidyayatan
since 2012, using the building, furniture
and field of Matidali High
School, an MPO-listed high school
in Bogra.
During a recent visit, it was
found that a signboard reading
“Barnali Bidyayatan is an associate
organisation of Matidali High
School” was attached to the wall of
the school in question.
A festoon attesting to Mushfique
sponsoring the school was also visible
on the wall. The festoon also
says that Mahbub is the president
of the managing committees of
both schools.
Locals said the high school,
established in 1970, had been imparting
lessons for students from
class III to class X until the primary
school was launched.
But, Mahbub reduced the number
of classes using his executive
authority, now taking classes only
from class VI at the 47-year-old educational
institute.
The spot visit also led to the
discovery that both the schools
were being operated from the same
building with shared facilities.
“Tara (Mahbub) retained the
post as president by flexing his
political muscle to continue his
unlawful activities in the schools,”
said Mahbubur Rahman, a local.
A complaint was lodged with
the Rajshahi Education Board regarding
this issue recently.
According to Mahbubur Rahman,
the primary school overcharges
its students.
When contacted, Mahbub defended
himself saying that he had
established the second school within
the boundaries of relevant laws.
“The school was not established
through any graft or anomaly since
there are separate managing committees
and bank accounts for both
schools,” he claimed. •
Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower,
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