SI ‘forced marriage of rapist, victim’
Father of a rape victim in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila has filed a complaint with the deputy inspector general of police in Rangpur alleging that a sub-inspector had forced his family to marry off their daughter with a man who raped her.
The complaint comes amid much uproar over police’s involvement in forcing a marriage between a rape victim and the accused inside a police station in Pabna on September 5.
The victim’s father filed the complaint on September 15 saying that Mainul Islam, sub-inspector of Lalmonirhat Sadar Police Station, had forced his family to arrange a marriage between their daughter, a student class seven, and one Shahin Alam, who allegedly raped their daughter beforehand.
The marriage took place on August 17 at a marriage registrar’s office, the father said.
“I filed a case against Shahin on August 11 for raping my daughter who used to take tuition from him,” the father said, adding that they came to know about the rape incident on July 25, when his daughter had to go through an abortion.
Mainul, however, did not record the case initially, the father said, adding the SI went to their house on August 12 and 14 and tried to convince the victim and her family members that marrying the rapist would be the best solution.
At one point, SI Mainul forced us to arrange the marriage, the father said, adding that Shahin did not take the girl to his house after marriage.
In the complaint, the victim’s father also alleged that Shahin seduced their daughter and raped her several times between January and April this year.
Contacted, SI Mainul said he was not “aware” of such an incident.
Meanwhile, police arrested Shahin on Wednesday in a rape case filed by the victim’s father on August 11, Mahfuz Alam, officer-in-charge of Lalmonirhat Sadar Police Station told The Daily Star, adding that the case was recorded on Wednesday.
Asked about the allegation against SI Mainul, the OC said he did not know anything of the matter as the SI handled it single-handedly.
Superintendent of Police in Lalmonirhat SM Rashidul Haque told this correspondent that he asked Additional SP Shafiqul to investigate the allegation against SI Mainul, adding that departmental action would be taken if the allegation proves to be true.
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