150 rape cases filed in capital last month
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has instructed its field level officials to identify rape-prone areas of the capital to initiate an awareness programme to stop the menace.
Officials were asked to get details of victims, their age group, their profession and place of residence. Once the database is completed, officials were asked to increase their surveillance along with running awareness campaigns.
DMP Commissioner Shafiqul Islam came up with the instruction while addressing the monthly crime conference at its headquarters yesterday.
The DMP chief further asked Abdul Baten, additional commissioner of DMP, to oversee the updates. Several high officials, who were present in the closed-door conference, confirmed it to The Daily Star. The DMP commissioner made the remark, as its database shows over 150 rape cases were filed in Dhaka alone in the month of January.
Several DMP officials, present in the conference, claimed that analysing rape victims' statements recorded under section 22 of the Women and Children Repression Act, they found a number of victims were raped by people they knew, including neighbours, friends or tenants.
In some cases, criminals allured victims with proposals of marriage and jobs, and the victims fell into the trap without realising the consequences.
With an aim to stop the practice and raise awareness, the DMP chief has taken the initiatives, said an attendee, requesting anonymity.
Regarding the awareness programme, the official said they would launch the programme only at vulnerable areas and among vulnerable groups.
They would also take the initiatives to RMG factories, schools, colleges and communities where the victims are from, the official added.
During the three-and-a-half hour conference, the DMP commissioner further asked field level officials to increase the detection rate of theft cases, expressing dissatisfaction over the poor detection rate of such cases.
Among the eight crime divisions of DMP, Lalbagh and Tejgaon divisions jointly achieved first rank in combating crime. Among four divisions of its Detective Branch, the south division achieved the first rank in combating crime and investigating cases.
DMP Commissioner Shafiqul Islam awarded best police officials at conference, for their duty in ensuring public security and maintaining law and order.
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