We should keep in context that Bangabandhu called the 1971 victims of rape his daughters. I know its not much consolation but it is still some consolation and we should not forget it...
10 BCL men rape girl
Farcical arbitration let 16 culprits get away with fine of Tk 10,000 each; victim's poor father dares not to file case
Sohrab Hossain, Patuakhali, Daily Star Sep 2009
Ten activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) allegedly gang-raped a teenage girl Friday night and were later handed down mere punishment at village arbitration arranged to ensure their escape by local Awami League leaders.
Family sources say the
Police also released two of the accused held on the spot while handing the victim over to her father early Saturday morning.
A band of 16 youths kidnapped the girl, a class VII student of Pakhimara in Kalapara upazila, Friday night when she was returning home on a rickshaw from a Puja mandap with her cousin Nasir Uddin.
The BCL men beat up Nasir, drove him away and took the girl to a nearby garden. Ten of them raped the girl until her relatives with police rushed to the scene to rescue her around 2:00am.
Sub-inspector Kabir Hossain of Kalapara police station held two of the culprits -- Rajib and Sohag -- from the spot but freed them later after handing over the girl to her family.
Later on Sunday, local
The village arbitration in a farcical judgement fined all the 16 Tk 10,000 each and that they all be whipped 100 times each.
But four days into the grisly incident the victim's father, a poor farmer, still does not dare to file a case.
He said, "Rakibul (
Rakibul Ahsan denied the allegation. He claims, "The youths did not rape the girl, they just made an attempt. We punished them so that they don't indulge into such activities in future."
The Kalapara AL leader also denied their political identity as BCL activists dubbing them as "spoilt brats".
Contacted, Kalapara police Officer-in-Charge (OC) Ishaq Ali said they released Rajib and Sohag as the victim's father did not file any complaint.
He says he does not know anything about the village arbitration, adding the police would not file any case of their own and "take legal steps if any complaint is filed".
The gang members were identified as Rajib, Rubel, Ratul, Pobitra, Mojibur, Omer, Rana, Sohel, Regan, Lalu, Jewel, Sohag, Bappi of Nayapara, Saiful and Munim of Madrasa Road in Kalapara upazila town and Al-Amin of Dhankhali.
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