RU student jailed over rape of fellow

The Rajshahi University student who was prime accused in the rape case of a female student of the same university was sent to jail yesterday.

Sub-inspector of Motihar Police Station, Imran Hossain, confirmed the matter and said, Mahfuzur Rahman Sharod (22) was sent to jail by a Rajshahi court after two days in remand. The other four accused were sent to jail earlier, he said.

On January 27, a student of RU filed a case against six people for raping and blackmailing her. The main accused Sharod is a second-year student of economics at the university.

He, along with his accomplices Rafsan and Plabon, were arrested on the day of filing the case. Two other accused -- Jibon and Joy -- were picked up from the city's Kazla area on February 7. The other accused Bishal is on the run, said police.

Rafsan and Plabon were sent to jail on January 28, while Jibon and Joy were jailed on February 8.

According to the case statement, on January 24, Mahfuzur Rahman took the girl to a hostel and raped her while his associates filmed it. They then tried to use the video clip to blackmail Tk 50,000 from her.

Meanwhile, the victim's family said yesterday, "Sharod and Rafsan's families repeatedly called the girl's number. They are trying to force us to drop their sons' names from the case. We feel unsafe following the matter, so our girl had to leave the campus."

The case's investigation officer Abdur Rahman said the crime was pre-planned.

STUDENTS DEMAND JUSTICE

Meanwhile, several hundred students demonstrated on Rajshahi University  campus yesterday, demanding exemplary punishment for the accused.

They placed six demands after forming a human chain in front of the central library around 12:45pm.

The demands include expulsion of the prime accused, formation of a sexual harassment prevention cell, women-friendly campus, and restricted entry for outsiders. The demonstrators brought out a procession as well.

Hridy Kabir, a master's student of the university, said, "It is the state's responsibility to protect us from harm... but women are harassed and raped even at university, a place of higher education."

"Justice must be ensured for every rape victim," she added.