Four remanded over rape of woman at JU
A court has granted remand for four, including a leader of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), in connection with the rape of a woman on the Jahangirnagar University campus on Saturday night.
Rabeya Begum, senior judicial magistrate of Dhaka’s chief judicial magistrate court, passed the order on Sunday.
Masud Mia, Dhaka district police’s sub inspector of prosecution department, confirmed the development.
He said Ashulia police produced the four persons arrested over the rape incident on JU and sought seven day remand for them. The court granted three day remand for them after hearing.
Earlier, the police arrested four persons including a leader of BCL in connection with the rape.
A joint team of Savar and Ashulia police stations conducted a drive and arrested them in the early hours on Sunday, said Abdullahil Kafi, additional superintendent of police of Dhaka district.
At a press briefing at the Ashulia police station on Sunday, he said the victim’s husband filed a case against six people with the police station, under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.
The arrestees are – Mustafizur Rahman, the international affairs secretary of the BCL’s JU unit and a student of international relations department; Sagar Siddiqui and Hasanujjaman, students of the same department; and Sabbir Hasan, a botany department student.
Mamunur Rashid, the acquaintance of the victim, and Md Murad, who helped confine the husband and beat him, have been at large.
The rape incident took place in a bush near the Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall around 9:30 pm on Saturday.
The accused are BCL leader Mustafizur Rahman and Mamunur Rashid , 45, an outsider. BCL leader Mustafizur had prior ties with Mamun, while Mamun was known to the victim’s family as he was once a tenant at their residence at Zirani in Ashulia.
Inspector Abdur Rasik at Savar Model Police Station confirmed the incident and said, “The victim disclosed her ordeal appearing in the police station. We are going to the spot for primary investigation and will take actions accordingly.”
The incident sparked an immediate protest on the campus, with dozens of students gathering on the premises of the Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall.
They chanted various slogans and demanded expulsion of rapists from the campus as well as punishment under the law. BCL leader Mustafizur had prior ties with Mamun, while Mamun was known to the victim’s family as he was a tenant at their residence at Zirani in Ashulia.
According to the victim, her husband came to the JU campus on a hangout on Saturday evening, along with Mamun. Later, he tactfully made the husband call the victim to the campus, on the pretext of purchasing some household equipment.
Meanwhile, Mustafizur and Mamun forcefully confined him in room no-317 of the Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall. When the victim reached the campus, Mamun took her to the adjacent bush, in the pretext of taking her to the husband. Later, Mustafizur and Mamun raped her there.
Asked about the issue, the hall provost, Sabbir Alam, said they came to know about the incident and will take action after investigation. They were in efforts to identify the accused by analysing CCTV footage.
Aktaruzzaman Sohel, the BCL president of JU unit, said Mustafizur has been suspended from the university unit following the allegations. Also, they will recommend his permanent expulsion from the organisation.
ASM Firoz-ul-Hasan, the JU proctor, vowed to book the individuals, saying, "Whoever are involved with the incident, we will ensure their punishment under the state law and the university regulations."