Noakhali Gang Rape: Husband of victim could have been involved
The Noakhali gangrape victim's husband and his elder brother may have been involved in the gangrape and torture in Begumganj in September, said a probe committee formed by the High Court.
The committee submitted its report to the HC yesterday through its registrar's office, saying that it found negligence of the local police and local union parishad chairman and member in taking action against the perpetrators.
The committee recommended taking actions against the local police and union parishad chairman and member, Deputy Attorney General Nawroz MR Chowdhury told The Daily Star.
The committee, headed by the principal of Noakhali's Chaumuhoni Government SA College, submitted the report to the HC bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Md Mohi Uddin Shamim.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) submitted another report before the HC saying that it has removed from social media a video footage showing the gangrape and torture of the woman.
The HC bench fixed November 29 to hold a hearing on the issue, DAG Nawroz said.
The gangrape and torture took place at Joykrishnapur village of Eklashpur union on September 2. The video footage went viral on social media in the first week of October.
On October 5, the HC bench directed the BTRC chairman to immediately remove the video footage from social media.
The HC also asked the BTRC chairman to record the copy of the video footage on a compact disk or USB drive before removing it from social media.
Issuing a suo moto (voluntary) rule, the HC bench ordered the superintendent of police in Noakhali to investigate while ensuring all protections to the victim and her family.
At the same time, the HC formed a three-member committee led by the college principal to conduct an inquiry into whether the police were negligent in taking actions against the perpetrators.
Other two members of the committee are additional deputy commissioner of Noakhali and social service officer of Noakhali.
The committee was asked to submit the probe report to the court in 15 days. The HC judges also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned of the government to explain why they should not be directed to take appropriate legal and departmental action against the officials of Begumganj Police Station, including its officer-in-charge, for their negligence in protecting the victim and taking action against the perpetrators quickly.
The HC bench came up with the directives after Supreme Court lawyers ZI Khan Panna and Abdullah Al Mamun placed newspaper reports on the incident before the bench for necessary directives.
The court heard opinions from lawyers including Supreme Court Bar Association President AM Amin Uddin, Secretary Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal, Jyotirmoy Barua, Yadia Zaman, Jamiul Haque Faisal, Rashida Chowdhury Nilu and Tanjim Al Islam before passing the orders.
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