Rape at MC College Hostel: Charges pressed against eight
All of them former BCL men
Police yesterday pressed charges against eight persons in the case filed over the gang-rape of a woman at Murari Chand (MC) College hostel in Sylhet on September 25.
The case's investigation officer Sub-inspector Indranil Bhattacharya submitted the charge sheet to Sylhet Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Abul Kashem's court.
In the charge sheet, six are charged with raping the woman while two are accused of assisting them.
The rape accused are Saifur Rahman, 28, Shah Mahbubur Rahman Rony, 25, Tarekul Islam, 28, Arjun Laskar, 26, Mohammad Ainuddin alias Ainul, 26, and Misbaul Islam Rajon, 27.
Other accused are Rabiul Hasan alias Islam, 25 and Mahfuzur Rahman Masum, 25. All eight are arrested and in jail.
Police arranged a press conference at the office of deputy commissioner (south) of Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP) in the afternoon where they updated about the progress of the case.
In the charge sheet, the police stated that the victim and her husband were forcefully taken into the hostel by the accused while the couple came to the college area to travel that evening.
Later the accused asked for Tk 50,000 as ransom and being denied, they raped the victim after tying her husband, snatched her gold jewellery and mugged Tk 2,000.
Victim's husband filed a case with Shahporan Police Station that night accusing six named and three to four unnamed.
Police later arrested all six named accused along with two others and these eight are accused in the charge sheet.
Earlier, all eight accused confessed their crimes before the court under section 164 of penal code.
On November 30, the DNA reports of the accused were sent to the investigation officer via the Sylhet court where their involvement was proved.
Meanwhile, the police that night recovered several arms from a hostel room which was occupied by the prime accused Saifur Rahman. A case was filed accusing Saifur Rahman by police that night.
In the arms case, police also pressed charge sheet to the court along with gang-rape case charge sheet.
The investigation officer Indranil Bhattacharya accused Saifur Rahman and Shah Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman Rony in the charge sheet.
Meanwhile, three probe bodies -- one judicial probe body, one of education ministry and another of the college -- were formed and all of them submitted their reports to the authorities.
Moreover, National University suspended studentship of Saifur, Shah Mahbubur Rahman Rony, Mahfuzur Rahman Masum and Rabiul Hasan and cancelled their certificate.
The MC College authorities also suspended them from the college.
All eight accused are Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activists, but were not in any posts as there are no BCL committees at the college, Sylhet city and district.
They all are member of one fraction of BCL that follows Advocate Ranjit Sarker, former youth and sports affairs secretary of Sylhet district Awami League.
Ranjit Sarker, however, earlier denied of having any fraction of BCL under his influence and demanded justice for the accused.