TSC incident: Police yet to arrest prime accused

Police are yet to arrest the prime accused in the assault on a young woman at the TSC of Dhaka University on the New Year's night.

The accused, Russel, reportedly a leader of the ruling party backed Chhatra League unit at Shaidullah Hall of Dhaka University managed to elude police. The DU authorities temporarily expelled him from the university. Chhatra League however disowned him.

Two youths-Mamun and Mokhtar - arrested by the Detective Branch of DMP earlier in connection with the incident, were taken on five days' remand yesterday for interrogation. Police said. The two were book sellers at Nilkhet in the city.

Police however did not seek remand of Taher, another youth detained along with Mamun and Mokhter. Police said Taher was detained last week when they went to the City Special Branch office to volunteer information about the incident They told police that they tried to rescue her.

Police said Mamun and Mokhter were arrested as they were identified and accused by the victim who lodged a complaint with the Detective Branch.

She gave a statement identifying her abusers and contradicted the clam of Mamun and Mokheter that that they tried to rescue her.

Detective police said they tracked her down at her house somewhere in Dhaka (We are concealing her address and identify)

Russels was reportedly seen at his village home in Sherpur but police failed to arrest him.

"We are hopeful of nabbing the culprits tonight. Sleuths have already fanned out to nab them." Deputy Commissioner Abdul Hannan told The Daily Star yesterday.

UNB adds: The fact-finding committee of Dhaka University will meet on Monday in the process of probe into the molestation of a young lady on the Dhaka University campus on the New Year's night.

Member-secretary of the committee Prof AKM Nur-Un-Nabi told UNB that they were meeting almost everyday and examining various information about the incident.

"The university is closed for Eid-ul-Fitr but we are working on it," he said.

As per an earlier decision, the committee, headed by pro-Vice Chancellor Prof Shahadat Ali, will hold another meeting on January 16.

Anyone having any information has been asked to contact the committee members.

Although they were assigned to submit a report by Monday (January 10), the member-secretary of the committee said they got information about involvement of a student and expelled him on the third day of the committee's activity.

"We are scrutinizing photographs of other people to find whether any other DU student is there," he said.

The authorities also requested the law-enforcing agencies to immediately arrest Russell and take legal action against him.