Muradnagar rape case
Political blame game over identity of rape accused, locals slam 'dirty politics'
A tug-of-war has begun over the political identity of Fazar Ali, the prime accused in the widely discussed rape case in Muradnagar upazila of Cumilla.
Since the incident, some have labelled him as an Awami League activist while others claim he is linked to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. However, no official position held by him in either party could be verified.
Instead, photos circulating on Facebook show Fazar Ali participating in political activities of both parties. He is known locally as an opportunist who shifts allegiance to serve personal interests.
There should not be any political identity of a rapist or a criminal, representatives of Cumilla’s civil society and law enforcement officials have remarked.
According to them, the way Fazar Ali’s political background is being pulled in different directions is a clear example of dirty politics.
Fazar Ali is accused of breaking into a house in a village in Muradnagar upazila last Thursday night and raping a 25-year-old woman.
When locals realised what had happened, they beat Fazar Ali. At that time, several local youths also physically assaulted the woman while she was unclothed.
A video of the incident spread on social media, prompting public outrage. Two cases have been filed, one for the rape, and another for the assault and spreading of the video.
Police have arrested five people, including Fazar Ali. Fazar is currently undergoing medical treatment at a hospital in police custody due to broken limbs.
When attempts were made to verify Fazar Ali’s political identity, no record of any official party position was found. Locals, however, said that until 5 August last year, Fazar Ali identified himself as an Awami League supporter and participated in party programmes. Numerous photographs were found in support of the claim.
After 5 August, however, he began identifying himself as a BNP man and started attending their political events. He was also spotted in photos from a BNP office inauguration in Ramchandrapur South Union on 14 December last year.
Local people consider Fazar Ali as an opportunist. THere are allegations that he is involved in drug dealing and illegal gambling. He reportedly had a close relationship with the local Union Parishad chairman.
When asked over the phone, the chairman said he was attending a meeting and could not speak. However, he did not pick up calls between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm.
According to a local resident and former Union Parishad member, Fazar Ali is primarily involved in drug and gambling activities. Many in the area have lost everything due to his gambling setups. An opportunist, Fazar Ali operated under the protection of the Awami League and turned to the BNP after 5 August.
According to the former UP member, Fazar’s brother Shah Paran had a long-standing conflict with him and allegedly incited local youths to beat Fazar on the night of the incident.
Following the incident, one group has tried to portray Fazar Ali as a BNP activist. However, BNP’s media cell posted on Facebook claiming, “Attempts are being made to mislead people by portraying an Awami League leader involved in the Muradnagar rape case as a BNP member.”
On Sunday afternoon at a press conference at a party centre in Cumilla, Muradnagar Upazila unit BNP protested what they called a smear campaign to label Fazar Ali as a BNP worker.
Asked about Fazar Ali’s presence at the BNP programmes and his claim as a BNP man, Muradnagar BNP convenor Mohiuddin Anjan told Prothom Alo that many have tried to infiltrate the BNP since 5 August.
According to him, just because someone claims to be a BNP member does not make him so.
He further elaborated that Fazar Ali is known as an Awami League leader. And in Muradnagar today, Awami League essentially means the NCP.
As leaders of the Awami League, whose activities are banned, went into hiding, no comment could be obtained from them regarding Fazar Ali.
However, on Sunday, the official Awami League Facebook page claimed, “Fazar Ali has been staying in his area confidently for 10 months. Backed by BNP supporters, he has frequently conducted so-called ‘moral policing’ operations in the area. Fazar Ali is a BNP secretary candidate from the ward.”
Speaking about this, Sochetan Nagorik Committee’s (SONAC) Cumilla chapter president professor Nikhil Chandra Roy told Prothom Alo a criminal should not have any political identity. The only identity of a rapist is that of a criminal.
He pointed out in past incidents they had seen a pattern where political parties compete to claim or disown the accused after such incidents. This is an unacceptable practice aimed at protecting party interests. “The law must take its course, and the criminal must be brought to justice.”
Expressing hope for exemplary punishment, Cumilla’s prominent women’s rights activist Dilnashi Mohsen told Prothom Alo, “When political parties start blaming each other after such a brutal incident, criminals exploit this opportunity, and try to escape justice. We should have socially boycotted such criminals instead of seeking their political identities.”
Cumilla’s additional superintendent of police (Muradnagar circle) AKM Kamruzzaman also agreed that attempts are often made to politicise criminal identity for advantage.
He told Prothom Alo, “To us, a criminal is simply a criminal. We do not need to know their political identity. That is why we did not try to know the political identity of the accused in this case. Attempts to unearth the political identity in such cases only benefit the criminal.”
He further stated that from the beginning, the accused have been treated as criminals. The main perpetrator and others involved in the assault and video circulation have already been arrested.
The additional SP assured that anyone else involved in the brutal abuse and its aftermath will also be brought to book.