Gang Rape by Five Cops in Khulna: Victim gets bail in drug case

A Khulna court yesterday granted bail to the woman allegedly gang-raped by five cops in police custody and later shown arrested in a drug-related case.

Judge Md Saifuzzaman, of Senior Judicial Magistrate Court in Khulna’s Phultala, passed the order after her bail petition was denied thrice -- on August 4, August 7 and August 18 -- by different courts.

Mominul Islam, the victim’s lawyer, said the date for hearing the woman’s bail plea was fixed on September 2, but she secured bail earlier.

On August 2, the 30-year-old woman was detained inside a train by Railway Police and taken to Khulna’s Phultala Railway Station.

She was then taken to Khulna Railway Station and then to a residential building for members of General Railway Police (GRP), where she was allegedly gang-raped.

The next day, the alleged rapists filed a case against the victim for possessing five bottles of Phensedyl, after which a court sent her to jail.

On August 4, she was placed before an additional chief judicial magistrate court in connection with the case where she placed her allegations.

Hearing her complaint, the court directed the authorities to file a first information report under the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act, 2013 and take legal action.

On August 5, two probe committees were formed by Railway Police Headquarters and Pakshey Railway Police to investigate the allegations.

Two police officials, an officer-in-charge and a sub-inspector, were withdrawn and attached to Pakshey Police Lines.

Meanwhile, the victim’s family alleged that plainclothes men were threatening them to withdraw the rape case against the five police officials.