Controversy over CCTV footage

Of the 19 CCTV cameras that were positioned around the various spots where the sexual assaults took place on Pahela Baishakh, the police have so far only released footages of nine cameras It is beyond our comprehension why, six days on, the police are yet to release the footage of the Suhrawardy Udyan entrance near TSC, the spot where reportedly the worst incidents of sexual assaults took place. Even though this spot has been highlighted in the accounts of eyewitnesses from the first day, the Police Commissioner is now claiming that he is not aware that there was any camera covering the particular area! We find this claim, six days later, baffling, especially as police sources had previously confirmed that CCTV 16 was installed to monitor this very spot. 

We are further aghast that, despite being in possession of the footages which clearly depict multiple instances of women being assaulted, the police refused to admit that they had any evidence of sexual assault on Pahela Baishakh for the first five days. If women being ganged up on, groped and molested does not seem like sexual assault to our law enforcement agencies, we are deeply concerned about what they think constitutes violence against women.

Additionally, there are allegations that the police released at least two youths caught by the Chhatra Union activists on April 14. There seems to be confusion as to whether the sub-inspector, who purportedly released them, has been closed or not. This needs to be clarified by the authorities without delay.

We urge the law enforcers to release the remaining footages and handle the case with the utmost urgency and sensitivity that it deserves.