SC stays HC bail order for main accused in RU student rape case

The Supreme Court stayed for eight weeks today a High Court order that granted ad-interim bail to Mahfuzur Rahman Sharod, the main accused in a case filed for raping and blackmailing a student of Rajshahi University in January last year.

Chamber judge of the Appellate Division of the SC Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the stay order following a petition filed by the state seeking a stay on the HC bail order.

The apex court judge also asked the state to move a leave to appeal petition before this court in eight weeks challenging the HC order.

Additional Attorney General Sheikh Md Morshed told The Daily Star that Mahfuzur Rahman cannot be released from jail following the SC chamber judge's stay order.

The apex court chamber judge stayed the HC order since there is a specific allegation against Mahfuzur Rahman of raping and blackmailing the victim according to the first information report of the case and as per the confessional statements of other accused of the case.

On March 25 this year, an HC bench of Justice Md Rezaul Haque and Justice Md Atoar Rahman granted ad-interim bail to Mahfuzur Rahman after hearing an appeal filed by the accused seeking bail.

On January 27 last year, the RU student filed the case against six people for raping and blackmailing her.

On January 24 last year, Mahfuzur Rahman, a second-year student of economics at the university, took her to a hostel and raped her while his associates filmed it. They, then, tried to use the video clip to extort Tk 50,000 from her, according to the case statement.