OC, SI closed over gang rape of Khulna woman
Two policemen, including an OC, were withdrawn and closed from Khulna Railway Police Station yesterday over the alleged gang rape of a woman in the district.
OC Osman Gani Pathan and Sub-Inspector Nazmul Haque were attached to Pakshey Railway Police Lines, said Firoz Ahmed, assistant superintendent of police (Kushtia Railway Circle).
“The action has been taken for a proper investigation into the allegation. It is for ensuring that they [the accused] cannot influence the probe,” said Firoz, also the chief of a three-member probe committee formed by the Railway Police over the incident.
On Friday evening, the 30-year-old woman was detained inside a train by Railway Police in Khulna’s Phultala Railway Station.
She was then taken to Khulna Railway Station and then to a residential building for members of General Railway Police (GRP) where she was gang-raped by the OC and four other policemen, her sister said.
The next day, the alleged rapists filed a case against the victim for possessing five bottles of Phensedyl, after which a court sent her to jail.
On Sunday, the victim filed a bail petition with the district’s additional chief judicial magistrate’s court. She also filed a complaint against the policemen with the court that day, the sister added.
Yesterday, the woman’s lawyer Faruq Ahmed filed another bail petition with the court, which again rejected it, said the counsel, adding that they would file a case receiving the medical report.
On Tuesday, Khulna Medical College Hospital’s forensic department chief Dr Shafiuzzaman said it might take around a week to prepare the report.
Meanwhile, talking to The Daily Star yesterday, the victim’s brother said he had gone to the police station immediately after his sister was detained.
He alleged that policemen there demanded Tk 1.5 lakh for her release.
“Primarily GRP members told me that my sister stole a mobile phone. When I opposed the allegation, they misbehaved with me and asked me to leave,” he said.
“I stayed at the police station till 9:00pm. I repeatedly told them that my sister is innocent, but they did not pay any heed.”
He further said their family continued to pass days in fear as policemen kept them under watch.
The mother of the woman, a 30-year-old widow, talked about the same fear while speaking to the correspondent at her home in Khulna city on Tuesday.
The brother added that members of a probe committee, formed by the Railway Police, assured them yesterday that the investigation would be fair.
The Daily Star repeatedly called the OC and the SI yesterday for comments. They, however, did not answer the calls.
Earlier, the OC had denied his involvement in the rape, terming the allegation false and baseless. Even, he claimed he was not present at the police station that night.
Meanwhile, the incident has sparked outrage in Khulna.
On Tuesday, a human chain was formed at the city’s Picture Palace area, demanding investigation into the rape and punishment of the rapists.
Civil society members and rights bodies also demanded an impartial investigation.
“We want justice. It’s possible only when the investigation will be conducted impartially and fairly,” Advocate Mominul Islam, a civil society member in Khulna, told The Daily Star yesterday.
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