Abused at every turn

A 13-year-old girl from a village in Bogura's Dhunat upazila was abducted, gang raped for more than a month, and then left unconscious by a road on August 24. Her sufferings, however, were still not over.

As her family sought justice, a group of influential locals humiliated them instead. They also isolated the family from other villagers, organised an arbitration and allegedly tried to "settle the issue" taking money from the offenders.  

Police, on the other hand, all along remained reluctant to record a rape case over the incident. The family alleged some locals and a sub-inspectorjoined hands with the culprits. 

Meanwhile, one of the main accused in an abduction case filed in this connection, Masud Rana, a 35-year-old from the same village, remains scot-free and frequently threatens the family over phone.

"Masud said he won't let us stay in the village if we did not withdraw the abduction case," said the girl's father, a low-paid garment employee who lost his job after the Covid-19 struck the country.

He said Masud along with 45-year-old Fazlul Haque Babu, member of the local union parishad, had been harassing his seventh-grader daughter on her way to school over the last couple of years.

Both of them wanted to marry the girl, but the family turned down their individual proposals, said the victim's mother.

On July 16, Masud, Babu along with some others took her away in a CNG-run auto-rickshaw after the girl reached Bogura's Mohishura area on her way to her grandmother's home in the nearby district of Sirajganj, said her father.

As the parents went to Dhunat Police Station to file an abduction case, Ahsanul Haque, one of the sub-inspectors, allegedly rebuked them and showed them the door.

Police finally registered the abduction case on August 12, filed by the girl's mother against Masud, Babu, and five others of the same village.

The girl was found unconscious with her hands and feet tied with rope in Kazipur upazila of Sirajganj on August 24. Locals informed her parents and Dhunat police brought her home from the spot. 

According to her mother, the girl told police that Masud Rana and UP member Fazlul Haque Babu abducted her, locked her up in a room andrepeatedly raped her for 38 days. Most of the time she was given sleeping pills.

Talking to The Daily Star on Saturday, the victim said, "Masud Rana and Fazlul Haque Babu abducted me and raped over a month. They ruined my life. I want their exemplary punishment so that they can't spoil any other girl's life."

Police sent the girl for medical tests and received the results on October 25.

"We found primary evidence of rape in her medical test," said Kripa Sindhu Bala, officer-in-charge of Dhunat Police Station, declining to comment further.

Babu was arrested in Bogura town on December 5, said the OC.

'HUMILIATED ENOUGH'

However, more than three and a half months after the girl was abducted, police have still not recorded a rape case even after getting evidence of rape and the victim's statement that she was gang-raped.

In what is a grim and familiar experience for poor families who seek to access justice against local influentials, police officials did little to help the family and actively worked against their interests.

"We were humiliated enough when we filed the abduction case," said the father.

Besides, the sub-inspector verbally abused the victim and her mother whenever he met them. "The SI knew Babu quite well," he said.

Asked about his alleged connections with Babu, SI Ahsanul Haque claimed he did not personally know Babu. He also denied misbehaving with the girl's family.

Additional SP (Sherpur circle) Gaziur Rahman, however, told The Daily Star, "I visited the area, talked to the victim and her family members, and found that Ahsan misbehaved with them and did not arrest the main accused for a long time."

He said he requested the superintendent of police to take departmental action against the SI.

On December 1, Ahsan was closed to the police lines and the case was handed to the OC.

Asked why no rape case was filed, the additional SP said on December 5, "Based on the medical report and the victim's statement, it is surely an incident of rape. We will mention about the rape while submitting the charge sheet to court."

Later on December 8, he said they applied to the court the abduction case to be counted as that of gang-rape under the relevant section of the Penal Code. Hearing on the matter has not taken place yet.

THE ARBITRATION

The girl's mother said the village arbitrators pressurised them in various ways after they went to the police. They also forced them into agreeing to going for a "mutual settlement" with the accused.

According to the victim's parents and locals, a meeting was held in October at the Dewria Government Primary School where Gopalnagar Union Parishad Chairman Golam Hossain Sarkar, also an advisor of the Dhunat Awami League, and Anowar Hossain, former Gopalnagar UP chairman and a local BNP leader, were present.

Others who joined the meeting included Azhar Mukti, Solaiman Ali, Nurul Islam, Sayeed Bapary, Abdul Mannan and Sathi Khatun, said local sources.

From the family, victim's father and elder brother were present.

The village arbitrators decided that Babu and Masud would give the victim's mother Tk 2.5 lakh within a week and she would withdraw the case against them.

At another meeting, Tk 30,000 was handed over to Anowar Hossain to give it to the family. Later, Azhar and Sayeed took the signature of the survivor's mother on an affidavit relating to the agreement over the case withdrawal, said UP Chairman Golam.

The mother, however, said she did not take any money.

Police said they have already arrested three -- Masud's uncle Abdul Mannan, Sayeed Bapary and Sathi Khatun -- who were present at the village arbitration.

Sayeed Bapary admitted taking Tk 1,00,000 from the two accused and handing the amount to other arbitrators, said Additional SP Gaziur Rahman.

Contacted, Golam Hossain Sarkar said, "I was reluctant to attend the meeting, but I went there at the request of the victim's mother and former chairman Anowar Hossain."

Anowar claimed he had attended the meeting at the request of the current chairman. He denied taking any money from the accused.

"Attending the meeting was a mistake, I know that this kind of incident cannot be settled," he added.

Golam Hossain echoed the same.

Additional SP Gaziur said, "We will take action against all who were involved in arranging the arbitration."