DU Student Rape: Police press charges against lone accused
Detectives yesterday pressed charges against the lone accused, Majnu, in a case filed over the rape of a Dhaka University student in the capital's Kurmitola area on January 5.
Abu Bakar Siddique, inspector of Detective Branch of police and also investigation officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka.
The IO also brought charges of assaulting and snatching of her mobile phone, wristwatch, and money.
According to the charge sheet, 16 people were made prosecution witnesses in the case, and 20 pieces of evidence were seized from different places, including the spot.
The IO said the accused matched the description the victim gave and "the biological evidence" reserved at the one-stop crisis centre of Dhaka Medical College Hospital also matched with the accused.
"The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number of the lost mobile phone provided by the victim also matched with the IMEI number of the phone recovered from the accused's possession," the IO mentioned.
The second-year student was raped and tortured while she was walking from Kurmitola bus stop to a friend's house around 7:30pm on January 5.
After regaining consciousness around 10:00pm, she managed to make it to her friend's house in Shewra. Later, her friend took her to DMCH around midnight.
The next day, the victim's father filed a case with Cantonment Police Station accusing unknown people in this regard.
Rab on January 8 arrested 30-year-old Majnu from Shewra area and said he was a serial rapist and that he tried to kill the DU student after raping her.
He was later placed on a seven-day remand.
On January 16, Majnu confessed that he committed the crime.
He told the magistrate that he was lying in wait for a victim that day. When he saw the girl walking from Kurmitola bus stop, he grabbed her from behind, gagged her, and took her to an isolated place nearby.
"I beat her up and raped her. But she was still able to escape," Majnu said in his confessional statement, adding that he tried to strangle her and at one stage, she lost consciousness.
After rape, he took her watch, money, and mobile phone.
The rape incident sparked a firestorm of protests and condemnations across the country.
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