MC College Gang Rape: Husband held overnight for testifying at court
The husband of the woman gang-raped at a college in Sylhet last year was arrested on Saturday just so that he testified in the court the next day.
Lawyers raised eyebrows, saying that such a strong action is only taken when a witness ignores a general warrant issued by a court.
They added that the night spent in police custody must have been traumatising for the man whose wife was gang-raped at MC College on September 25, 2020.
"According to the law, when a witness ignores a summon the court can issue a general warrant. If the general warrant is ignored, the court may then issue a non-bailable warrant, which happened in this particular instance. But the judge skipped the second step," said Shahiduzzaman Chowdhury, the lawyer of the man who is also the plaintiff of the case.
The non-bailable warrant was issued by the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal in Sylhet on January 24. Judge Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury of the tribunal released the man after he signed a commissary bond and attended a hearing of the case on Sunday.
According to the case filed with Shahporan Police Station after the woman was gang-raped on MC College campus, the Chhatra League men who raped the woman also took away the valuables from her and her husband.
On December 3, police pressed charges of gang-rape against eight Chhatra League leaders, and named 51 people as witnesses in the case.
Charge sheets, submitted in the other case filed over the robbery, mentioned the names of the same accused and witnesses.
The tribunal framed the charges in the gang rape case on January 17 and fixed January 24 to begin the trial.
The plaintiff's lawyer on January 24 filed a petition to the tribunal to hold trials of both cases in one court, but the court denied the plea. The plaintiff's lawyer then appealed to the High Court the same day.
Since the plaintiff's lawyers were to file that plea, no witnesses appeared before the court that day, the lawyer said. The court then fixed January 27 to hear the case and issued a non-bailable warrant for the man.
Meanwhile, the High Court bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman on Sunday directed the Sylhet tribunal to hold trials of both the cases.
Lawyers in Sylhet pointed out that some of the accused in the cases didn't have a lawyer to represent them when the charges were framed. And one of the accused still does not have a lawyer.
This might create a legal loophole through which the accused could get acquitted even after they are convicted, they added.
The HC bench on Sunday ordered that attorneys represent the accused if there is no alternative. The bench then directed the police commissioner in Sylhet to ensure safety of the victim, her husband, the witnesses and the lawyers representing the victim.