Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a female human rights defender, Mrs. Shampa Goswami, is facing suspension from her job as teacher for standing up for a victim of gang rape. The alleged perpetrators, well connected to influential political leaders, have been directly attacking her person, by circulating doctored and morphed sexually explicit images of Mrs. Goswami. The Kaliganj police of Satkhira district in Bangladesh are siding decidedly with the alleged perpetrators, and preventing other fair investigations. The human rights defender fears further sexual harassment and insecurity to her life and work as a result of the absence of legal and administrative remedies to injustice in Bangladesh.
CASE NARRATIVE:
Mrs. Shampa Goswami is a schoolteacher by profession. She works at the Mozahar Memorial Secondary School under the jurisdiction of Kaliganj upazilla (sub district) in Satkhira district of Bangladesh. Besides teaching, Shampa volunteers as a human rights defender. She has availed opportunities to train with Odhikar, a human rights organization based in Dhaka. She particularly focused her human rights works relating to the rights of women in the area where she lives in.
In August 2011, Shampa visited a victim of gang-rape, Mrs. Kamona Singh, at Paikgachha hospital in Khulna district. A man named Shushanta Kaur, who claimed to be a ‘well-wisher’ of Kamona, met Shampa in person there. He followed this up by contacting Shampa on several occasions via cell phone. Shushanta kept insisting that Shampa should not take her work as human rights defender too seriously, especially in the case of Kamona’s gang-rape. Shampa ignored his constant insistence, stating that her role is to assist victims for getting remedy from the criminal justice institutions of the country.
On 23 October 2011, Shampa had a scheduled programme of meeting Satkhira’s Deputy Commissioner, the top-most administrative official at the district level. She was to meet the Deputy Commissioner along with Mr. Shukumar Das Bachchu, a teacher of Kaliganj Girls School, and a human rights defender himself. Shampa was waiting for Shukumar at a fast food shop named Suchona Bakery, situated in the New Market area near Laboni Circle in the town of Satkhira. At the Bakery, Shampa happened to meet her younger brother’s friend, Mr. Nayan Das. Shampa chatted with Narayan at the fast food shop.
Suddenly, a group of young men barged into the shop and began using abusive language against Shampa. These men included Mr. Shushanta Kaur, who had been insisting that Shampa stop supporting the victim of gang-rape, Mr. Uzzal, who is a relative of Shushanta, and Mr. Samir Dey, a political thug attached to the Bangladesh Chhatra League (the student wing of the ruling party Bangladesh Awami League), who also happens to be a former student of Shampa. Amongst other members of the gang that could be identified were a certain Mr. Yasin Ali Gazi, and Mr. Roni Bishwas. When Shampa asked them about the reason for abusing her, she did not get any acceptable answer.
The attitude of the group became increasingly worse, and, much to the embarrassment and fear of Shampa, they began attempting to touch Shampa’s body in inappropriate and lewd ways. In alarm, Shampa hurriedly left the bakery, and began walking away alone.
Soon, however, Shushanta and his associates, along with 12 more men followed Shampa, then chased and surrounded her. They began molesting Shampa, while besieging her with vile abuse. Shampa tried to call the police from her cell phone. However, they snatched her cell phone from her. Then, the men tried to take Shampa away by force.
Realising her imminent total vulnerability, Shampa resisted their attempt to take her away by force, by telling them that they need not force her, and that she could far more easily accompany them where they wished to take her. The gang agreed.
Accordingly, Shampa followed their instructions and reached the rooftop to a building that houses a motor workshop called Uttora Motors. When she arrived there, she found that her brother’s friend, Nayan, who she had been chatting with at the bakery, had been brought there already and been told to sit and wait. The men compelled Shampa and Nayan to sit close, and directed them to act intimate, which was then recorded in photographs. Following this, the men forced Shampa to enter a nearby private student dormitory, where they attempted to molest her, and tried to coerce her into illicit acts. Upon her refusal, they intimidated Shampa, warning her that they would destroy her standing in society, widely circulating her photographs, if she did not stay away from the gang rape case. Furthermore, they demanded money from Shampa with threats that her refusal or failure in paying money would result in publishing her photo in the media with a caption that as a married woman she maintains extra-marital sexual relationships with others. Despite tremendous pressure, Shampa resisted the group and started shouting for help.
A local journalist named Mr. Ashraful Asha was passing through the area at the time. Ashraful heard a woman’s cry for help and tried to find the source of the sound. Upon reaching the location, he recognized Shampa, the school teacher and human rights defender. He insisted the men release Shampa immediately. Accordingly, she was released from that confinement.
However, she was released with threats of further harassments and her mobile phone and her money was taken away by the perpetrators. The same group then forced Shampa to get on a public bus alone. This was an attempt of preventing her from communicating further with her friends, who could have come to her help.
Although she got on the bus, Shampa was unable to pay her bus fare. So, she got off the bus in the middle of her journey. She found a public telephone in a shop and made a phone call to a journalist friend and informed him about her plight. Immediately, the information was shared amongst other journalists. Another journalist assured Shampa that he would come to help, and help her in registering a complaint with the Sadar police station of Satkhira on that very afternoon.
Suddenly, however, two of her tormentors, Shushanta Kaur and Uzzal, who were on motorcycle, saw Shampa at the shop and again confronted her. They intimidated Shampa telling her that any further attempt of sharing her story with the media would ultimately be harmful for her. They again forced Shampa to get on a public bus. She was thus unable to file her case that day.
Two days later, on 25 October, Shampa lodged First Information Report no. 72, with the Sadar police station of Satkhira regarding the sexual harassment she had faced. The complaint was registered under Sections 143, 342, 379 and 506 of the Penal Code (1860). Shampa accused Shushanta Kaur, Samir Dey, and Roni Bishwas, along with seven other unidentified persons in her complaint.
Following the sexual harassment and intimidation against Shampa, civil society organizations and human rights groups staged public protest in the form of a ‘human chain’ on 2 November. They protested against the ongoing sexual abuses Shampa had been facing. They submitted a memorandum to high ranking officials, including the Superintendent of Police of Satkhira district, demanding justice for Shampa Goswami. The local, regional and national media of the country published several reports on the issue highlighting the necessity of justice to her as well.
On 19 February 2012, Police investigator Sub Inspector (SI) Mr. Mahbubur Rahman submitted an investigation report (Charge Sheet No. 121) to the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court of Satkhira district bringing charges against the alleged accused for harassing and intimidating Shampa. In the investigation report, the police officer added Section 411 of the Penal Code (1860) along with other sections of the same law referred to at the time registration of the case.
After the police submitted the investigation report, the alleged perpetrators and their relatives intensified their threats. They publicly threatened that they will make Shampa jobless by influencing the Management Committee of the Mozahar Memorial Secondary School and activating their political nexus.
As a result, several people including Mr. Abdul Hamid Sarder, a member of the Mozahar Memorial Secondary School Management Committee and an organizing secretary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) at its local union council unit in Kaliganj upazilla, insisted that Shampa withdraw her case so that the alleged perpetrators would be free from the charge of sexual abuse. Following such constant pressure on Shampa for withdrawing the case, Shampa lodged a General Dairy (No. 940) Entry with the Kaliganj police on 24 March 2012 detailing the pressure on her.
The result, however, was that the management committee of the school got angry at Shampa for registering the General Diary Entry. Members of the management committee and their allies, including Abdul Hamid Sarder, Samir Day, and a number of activists of the main ruling political party (Bangladesh Awami League), namely Hiralal Biswas, Kartik Sarkar and Yasin Ali Gazi, threatened Shampa that, if she were to refuse to withdraw her case, the Committee would suspend her from her job as teacher.
As Shampa maintained that she would fight the sexual harassment case and take it to the end of the judicial process in her quest for justice, the alleged perpetrators morphed the photographs of Shampa and her family friend (replacing Nayan’s photo with that of another man and superimposing explicit images) and sent the photo to numerous people including members of the school management committee. On 28 June, Shampa registered another complaint (FIR No. 27, General Register No. 167) against Mr. Abdul Hamid Sarder and Mr. Kartik Sarker with the Kaliganj police under Sections 509, 354 and 506 of the Penal Code (1860), seeking a credible investigation into the alleged superimposed photo of her that was circulated among public via mobile phone and ongoing threats against her. Following this, the Kaliganj police arrested Mr. Abdul Hamid Sarder on 30 June and Mr. Kartik Sarker on 26 July.
In protest against the arrest of Mr. Abdul Hamid Sarder, and at his behest, a large number of political activists congregated at the Mozahar Memorial School. They asked the students to go home by declaring a holiday on 1 July when there was meeting called by the management committee.
Shampa was kept in a separate room, while the management committee held a meeting in a different room. The head teacher later told Shampa to settle the case by negotiation at the cost of her self-dignity. Shampa said that if the matter endangers the entire teacher community, then she would follow the advice of her colleagues for settling the matter thorough negotiation.
On 19 July, Abdul Hamid Sarder, and on 29 July, Kartik Sarkar, were freed on bail. They influenced the Management Committee to take action against Shampa. Thus school Management Committee includes Chairman Shahadat Hossain, who is district president of Jatiya Party (political ally of the incumbent regime of Bangladesh), a former Member of Parliament, and currently also Chairman of the Kaliganj Upazilla Parishad (a unit of local government). They influenced the school Management Committee to serve a ‘Show Cause Notice’ from the desk of the head teacher of the school Mr. A F M Lutfor Rahman.
Accordingly, on 30 August, the head teacher, Mr. A F M Lutfor Rahman, officially asked Shampa, in a letter, to ‘show cause’ regarding her alleged ‘anti-social and unethical activities’ within seven days. According to the letter, the decision of serving the ‘show cause’ letter was taken on 14 August 2012 in a Management Committee Meeting following ‘complaints from students and parents’ regarding Shampa’s ‘illicit and anti-social activities.’ Shampa, in turn, responded to the ‘show cause notice’ on 4 September denying the allegation and demanding a fair investigation followed by justice to her.
Meanwhile, on 1 September, the District Education Officer of Satkhira, Mr. Kishori Mohan Sarker, went to the Mozahar Memorial Secondary School in order to investigate the alleged ‘anti-social and unethical activities’ of Shampa following the demands of Shampa and pressure from the civil society groups.
He started taking information from teachers, students, parents, and other relevant persons who are believed to have adequate knowledge about the matter. The Chairman and Members of the school Management Committee did not like the approach of the District Education Officer. They wanted him to only listen to them and prepare a report against Shampa. The investigation officer did not wish to comply.
Members of the Management Committee urged the alleged perpetrators to come and misbehave with the District Education Officer. The District Education Officer was forced to leave the school without accomplishing the investigation. After the departure of the investigation officer, Mr. Shahadat Hossain, Chairman of the school Management Committee and its members, Mr. Rafiqul Islam, Mr. Abdus Salim, Mr. Israil Gazi, Mr. Panchanan Mandal, Mr. Abdul Hamid Sarder, and Mr. Munsur Ali, used abusive language against Shampa in public. They attempted to physically attack Shampa after the departure of the District Education Officer. They also threatened to expel her from the school.
Later, on the same day, Mr. Kishori Mohan Sarker, the District Education Officer of Satkhira, told the media that a number of students told him that the chairman of the Management Committee and its members insisted that the students put signatures on blank papers. The students had declined to do so.
On 10 September, the Management Committee, on the basis of the superimposed and morphed photographs, suspended Shampa from her teaching position. This suspension was implemented by the Management Committee without allowing any authority to conduct any fair investigation into the matter.
The students of the school allege that Mr. Abdul Hamid Sarder, Mr. Israil Gazi and Mr. Shahadat Hossain went to the secondary level classes of the school and asked the girl-students that the Committee was about to “arrange a hand-writing competition for the students.” They insisted the students write their names on a piece of paper, showing off their great handwriting. After the students had written their names, these three persons,showed a number of morphed photos of Shampa Goswami to the students. They also told the students that the photos reflect the bad character of their teacher Shampa Goswami. They instructed the students that if any investigation team inquires into the matter, they (students) should tell the investigators about the bad character of their teacher without hesitation.
Meanwhile, on 19 September, Ms. Masruba Ferdous, the Revenue Deputy Collector (RDC) of Satkhira district, conducted an investigation regarding the matter, as part of an administrative inquiry about Shampa’s suspension from the school. Eye-witnesses said that Mr. Shahadat Hossain, chairman of the school Management Committee and its other members, failed to answer questions of the RDC during her inquiry.
On the other hand, the Kaliganj police, which was investigating Shampa’s case concerning her morphed and doctored images sent to the wider public via mobile phone, has changed the investigation officer three times in the two month and three week period since the registration of the case. This has happened to due pressure on the police and alleged corruption. Two previous Investigation Officers, namely SI Mr. Jasim Uddin and SI Mr. Rafique did nothing to ensure a credible investigation in the case. Likewise, the current Investigation Officer, police Sub Inspector (SI) Mr. Belal Hossain has not made convincing progress in investigating the case either.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In August 2011, Shampa intervened in a case of gang rape of an elderly woman named Mrs. Kamona Singh, aged around 48 years, wife of late Mr. Sunil Singh, of village Bhobanipur under Paikgachha upazilla in Khulna district. Mrs. Kamona Singh was admitted to the Paikgachha Upazilla Health Complex for treatment after the incident of rape, which occurred at around 1:30 AM, on 9 August 2011, at her home in Bhobanipur village under the jurisdiction of Paikgachha police station in Khulna district. Shampa, a human rights defender, paid a visit to Kamona Singh at Paikgachha hospital to learn more about the incident of rape and to check the progress of medical treatment for the rape victim. Shampa met the doctors of the hospital and requested them to ensure necessary medical treatment to the victim.
Mrs. Kamona Singh, who was reluctant to register a case regarding the rape due to social stigma and threats from the alleged perpetrators, agreed to do so following insistence from her son Mr. Sukanto Kumar Singh. On 8 September 2011, Sukanto registered a complaint (No. 15, under Sections 143, 448, 323, 325, 307, 380, 354, 427, 506 of the Penal Code (1860) with the Paikgachha police against 1) Mr. Md. Rafikul Islam Rafik (33), son of late Elahi Gazi; 2) Mr. Provash Chandra Singh a.k.a. Sona, son of Mr. Vishnupada Singh (both are from Bhobanipur village of Paikgachha); 3) Mr. Narayan Debnath, son of late Keshab Lal Debnath of Shattola village of Fakirhat police station in Bagerhat district, and around four other unidentified persons.
Police Sub Inspector Mr. Bipul Kumar Ghosh was assigned by the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Paikgachha police station for investigating the case. The police officer submitted his investigation report (No. 180) on 6 November 2011. In the investigation report the police mentioned that the allegations of breaking into the house of Kamona Singh, attacking her physically, and looting valuables from her house were proven true during the investigation, which was substantiated by the witnesses of the case. But, the police blamed the witnesses for not being able to identify the alleged perpetrators, due to which nobody could be specifically charged for the crimes. The police officer asked the Magistrate to close the case as none of the alleged accused could be identified in the investigation.
Following the police investigation (Final Report) report of the police officer, the rape case was closed by the Senior Judicial Magistrate’s Court of Paikgachha on 20 March 2012.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities of Bangladesh urging them to ensure a credible investigation by competent judicial officers so that the police are prevented from covering up crimes, as has become their habit. The alleged perpetrators must be punished through a fair and speedy trial. The victim must be afforded adequate protection from the authorities, followed by monetary compensation, for the loss that she and her family have suffered, and will suffer, as a result of the series of incidents.
The AHRC has written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteurs, on Violence against Women and Situation of Human Rights Defender calling for their interventions into this matter.
To support this appeal, please click here:
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
BANGLADESH: Female human rights defender molested, sexually harassed, and suspended from her position as school teacher for standing up for a victim of gang-rape
Name of victim: Mrs. Shampa Goswami, a schoolteacher by profession and a volunteer human rights defender, living in Kaliganj upazilla, under the jurisdiction of Satkhira district
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Shushanta Kaur, resident of Bhobanipur village under the jurisdiction of Paikgachha police station in Khulna district
2. Mr. Samir Dey, political thug, attached to the Bangladesh Chhatra League, which is the student wing of the Bangladesh Awami League, the main political party of ruling regime;
3. Mr. Roni Biswas
4. Mr. Subhash Dey, father of Samir Dey
5. Mr. Hiralal Biswas
6. Mr. Kartik Sarkar
7. Mr. Yasin Ali Gazi
All are political activist of the Bangladesh Awami League in the area
8. Mr. Shahadat Hossain, Chairman of Mozahar Memorial Secondary School Management Committee, president of the Satkhira district unit of Jatiya Party – an ally of the incumbent ruling regime comprising 14 political parties, chairman of Kaliganj Upazilla Parishad – a local government unit – and former of Member of Parliament
9. Mr. Abdul Hamid Sarder, Member of Mozahar Memorial Secondary School Management Committee and organizing secretary of a local union council unit of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) at Kaliganj upazilla of Satkhira district
10. Mr. Rafiqul Islam
11. Mr. Abdus Salim
12. Mr. Israil Gazi
13. Mr. Panchanan Mandal
14. Mr. Munsur Ali
All are Members of Mozahar Memorial Secondary School Management Committee
15. Police officers of Kaliganj police station of Satkhira district
Date of incident: August 2011 to September 2012
Place of incident: Mozahar Memorial Secondary School at Kaliganj and vaious places in Satkhira district, Bangladesh
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the plight of a female human rights defender and school teacher named Mrs. Shampa Goswami. She has had to face harassment, sexual harassment, molestation, social stigma, and suspension from her job as school teacher, followed by constant attacks on her personal character, for supporting an elderly victim of gang rape in Paikgachha of Khulna district. The Management Committee of her school has been defending those that have molested and sexually harassed Shampa for a long time. And there is total police inaction regarding the matter. I demand a credible investigation into the series of events that have been taking place, ever since Shampa started supporting a victim of a gang rape.
According to the information I have received from the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Mrs. Shampa Goswami is a schoolteacher by profession. She works at the Mozahar Memorial Secondary School under the jurisdiction of Kaliganj upazilla (sub district) in Satkhira district. Besides the teaching profession, Mrs. Shampa voluntarily works as a human rights defender due to her interest. She has received some training on human rights issues by Odhikar, a human rights organization based in Dhaka. She particularly focused her human rights works relating to the rights of women in the area where she lives.
In August 2011, Shampa was visiting a victim of gang-rape named Mrs. Kamona Singh at Paikgachha hospital in Khulna district. A man named Shushanta Kaur, who claimed to be a 'well-wisher' of Kamona, met Shampa there and also contacted her on several occasions via cell phone later. Shushanta kept insisting that Shampa take her role as a human rights defender to seriously via-a-via the gang rape case. Shampa ignored his repeated requests, stating that her role is to assist victims in getting remedy from the criminal justice institutions of the country.
On 23 October 2011, Shampa had a scheduled programme of meeting the Satkhira Deputy Commissioner, the top-most administrative official at the district level. She was to be accompanied by Mr. Shukumar Das Bachchu, a teacher of Kaliganj Girls School and a human rights defender. She was waiting at a fast food shop named Suchona Bakery at New Market area near Laboni Circle of Satkhira district town. While waiting for Shukumar, Shampa met her younger brother's friend, Mr. Nayan Das, with whom she had a chat at the fast food shop.
Suddenly, a group of young men barged into the shop and began hurling abuses at Shampa. The men included Mr. Shushanta Kaur, who has been insisting Shampa withdraw her support for the rape victim Kamona Singh; Shushanta's relative Mr. Uzzall; Mr. Samir Dey – a political thug attached to the Bangladesh Chhatra League – the student wing of the ruling party Bangladesh Awami League – who also happens to be a former student of Shampa Goswami; and other allies of Shushanta like Mr. Yasin Ali Gazi and Mr. Roni Bishwas.
When Shampa asked them about the reason of abusing language at her, she did not get an acceptable answer. Instead, they began harassing Shampa in a way that was initially embarrassing for Shampa, and soon became scary. They began trying to touch her body inappropriately, amidst their sexual taunts. As a result, Shampa hurried out of the place and began walking away quickly.
However, soon after, Shushanta and his associates, along with around 12 more men, chased Shampa and surrounded her. They started physical molesting Shampa and resumed their verbal abuse. Shampa tried to call the police from her cell phone, but it was snatched away by the men. They then attempted to forcibly take her away.
Realising the vulnerability of her situation, Shampa resisted them by telling that if they did not force her, she herself follow them toward the place where they wanted her to go. The thugs agreed. Accordingly, Shampa followed their instructions and reached a rooftop to a building that houses a motor workshop named Uttora Motors. There she saw that her brother's friend Mr. Nayan Das was already there. He had been kept sitting.
The men compelled Shampa and Nayan to sit close to each other, and get intimate. They took photos of Shampa and Nayan. They forced Shampa to go inside of an adjacent private dormitory of students where they attempted to molest her with illicit offers. They intimidated Shampa by saying that they would bring dishonor and destroy her social standing in the society by spreading her photographs, if she did not stay away from the gang-rape case. They also demanded money from Shampa with a threat that her refusal or failure in paying money would result in publishing her photo in the media with a caption that as a married woman she maintains extra-marital sexual relationships with others.
Despite tremendous pressure, Shampa did not comply with the group and started shouting for help. A local journalist named Mr. Ashraful Asha was passing through the area at the time. Asha heard a woman's cry for help and approached the place from where the voice could be heard. Having reached the place he recognized Shampa as a school teacher cum human rights defender. He insisted that the men to release Shampa unharmed immediately.
She was thus released from her confinement on that day. However, this was done with threats of further harassments. Also, her mobile phone set and money was taken away by the perpetrators. The same group forced Shampa to get onto a public bus alone. This was an attempt to prevent her from further communication with her friends, who could have come to her help.
Unable to pay her bus fare, Shampa got off the bus in the middle of her way. She found a public phone shop and made a phone call to a journalist-friend and informed him about her plight. Immediately, the information was shared amongst other journalists. Another journalist assured Shampa that he would come to help her register a complaint with the Sadar police station of Satkhira that afternoon. Suddenly, Shushanta Kaur and Uzzal, who were passing by on motorbike, saw Shampa at the shop and confronted her. They intimidated Shampa saying that any further attempt to share her story with the media would ultimately be harmful for her. They again forced Shampa to get on a public bus. She thereby could not file her case on that day.
Two days later, on 25 October, Shampa lodged a complaint (First Information Report no. 72) with the Sadar police station of Satkhira regarding the sexual harassment she had faced. The complaint was registered under Sections 143, 342, 379 and 506 of the Penal Code (1860). Shampa accused Shushanta Kaur, Samir Dey, and Roni Bishwas and seven other unidentified persons in her complaint.
Following constant sexual harassment and intimidation on Shampa, civil society organizations and human rights groups staged a 'human chain' in a public protest, on 2 November. They protested against the ongoing sexual abuse Shampa had been facing. They submitted a memorandum to the high-ranking officials including the Superintendent of Police of Satkhira district demanding justice to Shampa Goswami. The local, regional and national media of the country published several reports on the issue highlighting the necessity of justice Shampa.
On 19 February 2012, Police investigator Sub Inspector (SI) Mr. Mahbubur Rahman submitted an investigation report (Charge Sheet No. 121) to the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court of Satkhira district bringing charges against the alleged accused for harassing and intimidating Shampa. In the investigation report, the police officer added Section 411 of the Penal Code (1860) along with other Sections of the same law we were initially registered.
The alleged perpetrators and their relatives intensified their threats to Shampa after the police had submitted the investigation report. They publicly threatened that they will make Shampa jobless by influencing the Management Committee of the Mozahar Memorial Secondary School and activating their political nexus.
As a result, several people including Mr. Abdul Hamid Sarder, a member of the Mozahar Memorial Secondary School Management Committee and an organizing secretary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) at its local union council unit in Kaliganj upazilla, insisted Shampa withdraw her case so that the alleged perpetrators could walk free from the charge of sexual abuse. Following constant, and endless, pressures on Shampa to withdraw the case, Shampa lodged a General Dairy (No. 940) with the Kaliganj police on 24 March 2012.
The management committee of the school took the side of the perpetrators and became angry with Shampa for registering the General Dairy. The members of the management committee and their allies, including Abdul Hamid Sarder, Samir Day, and a number of activists of the main ruling political party (Bangladesh Awami League), namely Hiralal Biswas, Kartik Sarkar and Yasin Ali Gazi, continuously threatened Shampa. They told her that if she refuses to withdraw her case the Committee would suspend her from her teaching profession.
Shampa maintained that she would fight against her sexual harassment till the end of the judicial process for justice. This led the alleged perpetrators to morph and doctor Shampa's photographs (by adding an unknown male person and pasting explicit imagery). These photographs were then sent to numerous people, including members of the school management committee. On 28 June, Shampa registered another complaint (FIR No. 27 while General Register No. 167) against Mr. Abdul Hamid Sarder and Mr. Kartik Sarker with the Kaliganj police under Sections 509, 354 and 506 seeking a credible investigation into the alleged morphed and superimposed photo of her that was circulated among public via mobile phone and the ongoing threats against her person.
As a result of the cases registered, the Kaliganj police arrested Mr. Abdul Hamid Sarder on 30 June and Mr. Kartik Sarker on 26 July. However, on 1st July, in protest against the arrest of Mr. Sarder, a large number of political activists gathered at the school. They asked the students to go home, declaring a holiday.
Shampa was kept in a separate room, as a meeting was held between the activists and the teachers in a different room. The head teacher later told Shampa to settle the case by negotiation at the cost of her self-dignity. Shampa responded that if it endangers the entire teacher community, then she would follow the advice of her colleagues for settling through negotiation.
On 19 July, Abdul Hamid Sarder, and on 29 July, Kartik Sarkar, were freed on bail. They influenced the school Management Committee. The Committee is headed by Chairman Mr. Shahadat Hossain, district President of Jatiya Party (a political ally of the incumbent regime of Bangladesh), a former Member of Parliament, who is also currently Chairman of the Kaliganj Upazilla Parishad, a unit of local government. The Committee served Shampa a 'Show Cause Notice' from the desk of the head teacher of the school Mr. A F M Lutfor Rahman.
Accordingly, on 30 August, the head teacher Mr. A F M Lutfor Rahman officially asked Shampa, in a letter, to 'show cause' regarding her alleged 'anti-social and unethical activities' within seven days. According to the letter, the decision of serving the 'show cause' letter was taken on 14th August 2012 in a Management Committee Meeting following 'complaints from students and parents' regarding Shampa's 'illicit and anti-social activities.' Shampa responded to the 'show cause notice' on 4 September denying the allegation and demanding a fair investigation followed by justice.
Meanwhile, on 1 September, the District Education Officer of Satkhira Mr. Kishori Mohan Sarker went to the Mozahar Memorial Secondary School in order to investigate the alleged 'anti-social and unethical activities'. This officer went to investigate the controversy surrounding Shampa, following the demands of Shampa and pressure from civil society groups. Mr. Sarker started collecting information from the teachers, students, parents and other relevant persons believed to have knowledge about the matter. The Chairman and other Members of the school Management Committee, however, did not like the approach of the District Education Officer. They wanted him only to listen to them and prepare a report against Shampa. The investigation officer, however, did not appear to be complying with them. As a result, the members of the Management Committee informed the original perpetrators of the crime, who morphed Shampa's images, and asked them to misbehave with the District Education Officer. This resulted in the District Education Officer being forced to leave the school without accomplishing the investigation. After the departure of the investigation officer, Mr. Shahadat Hossain, Chairman of school Management Committee and its members, Mr. Rafiqul Islam, Mr. Abdus Salim, Mr. Israil Gazi, Mr. Panchanan Mandal, Mr. Abdul Hamid Sarder, and Mr. Munsur Ali hurled abuse at Shampa in public. They attempted to physically attack Shampa after the departure of the District Education Officer. They threatened to expel her from the school.
Later on the same day, Mr. Kishori Mohan Sarker, District Education Officer of Satkhira, told the media that a number of students informed him that the chairman of the Management Committee and its members insisted the students to put signatures on blank papers, which the students denied to do so.
On 10 September, the Management Committee claimed that, on the basis of the explicit photographs, it had suspended Shampa from her job at the school. This suspension was implemented by the Management Committee without allowing any authority to conduct fair investigation into the matter.
The students of the school allege that Mr. Abdul Hamid Sarder, Mr. Israil Gazi, and Mr. Shahadat Hossain went to the secondary level classes of the school and announced to the girl-students that the Committee was about to "arrange a hand-writing competition for the students." They asked the students to write their names on a piece of paper, to test their 'handwriting." These 'signatures' were later used by the Committee to justify their action of suspecting Shampa following 'complaints.' After the students had written their names, Committee Members showed a number of morphed photos of Shampa Goswami to the students. They also told the students that the photos reflect the bad character of their teacher Mrs. Shampa Goswami and asked that if any investigation team inquires into the matter, they (students) should tell the investigators about the bad character of their teacher without any hesitation.
Meanwhile, on 19 September, Ms. Masruba Ferdous, the Revenue Deputy Collector (RDC) of Satkhira district, conducted an investigation regarding the matter, as part of an administrative inquiry about Shampa's suspension from the school. The eye-witnesses said that Mr. Shahadat Hossain, chairman of the school Management Committee and its other members, failed to answer the questions of the RDC during her inquiry.
On the other hand, the Kaliganj police, investigating the case related to distribution of doctored images of Shampa, replaced the investigation officer thrice in the two months and three weeks' period since the registration of the case. This was done due to political pressures and alleged corruption. Two previous Investigation Officers namely SI Mr. Jasim Uddin and SI Mr. Rafique did nothing to ensure credible investigation in the case. Likewise, the current Investigation Officer is police Sub Inspector (SI) Mr. Belal Hossain has not made convincing progress in investigating the case.
I am aware of the background of the plight of Ms. Shampa Goswami. I know that, in August 2011, Shampa intervened into a case of gang rape of an elderly woman named Mrs. Kamona Singh, aged around 48 years, wife of late Mr. Sunil Singh, of village Bhobanipur under Paikgachha upazilla in Khulna district. Mrs. Kamona Singh was admitted to the Paikgachha Upazilla Health Complex for treatment after the incident of rape, which occurred at around 1:30AM on 9 August 2011 at her home in Bhobanipur village under the jurisdiction of Paikgachha police station in Khulna district. Shampa, as a human rights defender, paid a visit to Kamona Singh at Paikgachha hospital to learn more about the incident of rape and to check the progress of medical treatment for the rape victim. Shampa met the doctors of the hospital and requested them to ensure necessary medical treatment to the victim.
Mrs. Kamona Singh, who was reluctant to register a case regarding the rape due to social stigmatization and threats from the alleged perpetrators, agreed to do so following insistence from her son Mr. Sukanto Kumar Singh. On 8th September 2011, Sukanto registered a complaint (No. 15, under Sections 143, 448, 323, 325, 307, 380, 354, 427, 506 of the Penal Code-1860) with the Paikgachha police against 1) Mr. Md. Rafikul Islam Rafik (33), son of late Elahi Gazi; 2) Mr. Provash Chandra Singh a.k.a. Sona, son of Mr. Vishnupada Singh; both are from Bhobanipur village of Paikgachha; 3) Mr. Narayan Debnath, son of late Keshab Lal Debnath of Shattola village of Fakirhat police station in Bagerhat district, and around four more unidentified persons.
Police Sub Inspector Mr. Bipul Kumar Ghosh was assigned by the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Paikgachha police station for investigating the case. The police officer submitted his investigation report (No. 180) on 6 November 2011. In the investigation report the police mentioned that the allegations of breaking into the house of Kamona Singh, attacking on her physically and looting valuables from her house were proven true during the investigation, which was substantiated by the witnesses of the case. But, the police blamed the witnesses for not being able to identify the alleged perpetrators, due to which nobody could be specifically charged for the crimes, according to the police investigation report. The police officer suggested that the Magistrate close the case as none of the alleged accused could be identified in the investigation.
Following the police investigation (Final Report) report of the police officer, the rape case was closed by the Senior Judicial Magistrate's Court of Paikgachha on 20th March 2012. I have serious doubts about the credibility of the police investigation and the quality of adjudication by the Magistrate's Court of Satkhira.
I urge the authorities of Bangladesh to ensure a credible investigation by competent judicial officers so that the police are prevented from covering up crimes, as has become their habit. The alleged perpetrators must be punished through a fair and speedy trial. The victim must be afforded adequate protection from the authorities, followed by monetary compensation from the perpetrators for the loss that she and her family have suffered and will suffer regarding the series of incidents.
Yours sincerely,
----------------
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mrs. Sheikh Hasina
Prime Minister
Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Office of the Prime Minister
Tejgaon, Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 2 811 3244 / 3243 / 1015 / 1490
Tel: +880 2 882 816 079 / 988 8677
E-mail: pm@pmo.gov.bd or ps1topm@pmo.gov.bd or psecy@pmo.gov.bd
2. Mr. Md. Muzammel Hossain
Chief Justice
Supreme Court of Bangladesh
Supreme Court Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 2 956 5058 /+880 2 7161344
Tel: +880 2 956 2792
E-mail: chief@bdcom.com or supremec@bdcom.com
3. Barrister Shafique Ahmed
Minister
Ministry of Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs
Bangladesh Secretariat
Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 7160627 (O)
Fax: +880 2 7168557 (O)
Email: info@minlaw.gov.bd
4. Mr. Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir MP
Minister
Ministry of Home Affairs
Bangladesh Secretariat
Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 7169069 (O)
Fax: +880 2 7160405, 880 2 7164788 (O)
E-mail: minister@mha.gov.bd
5. Mr. Mahbubey Alam
Attorney General of Bangladesh
Office of the Attorney General
Supreme Court Annex Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 2 956 1568
Tel: +880 2 956 2868
6. Prof. Mizanur Rahman
Chairman
National Human Rights Commission
10th Floor, Gulfeshan Plaza
8, Journalist Selina Parvin Road
Mogbazar, Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88 02 8331492
Fax: +88 02 8333219
E-mail: nhrc.bd@gmail.com
7. Mr. Hassan Mahmud Khandker
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
Bangladesh Police
Police Headquarters'
Fulbaria, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 2 956 3362 / 956 3363
Tel: +880 2 956 2054 / +880 2 717 6451 / +880 2 717 6677
E-mail: ig@police.gov.bd
8. Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)
Khulna Range
Office of the DIG of Khulna Range
Khulna
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 41 761823
Fax: +880 41 761300
E-mail: digkhulna@police.gov.bd
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
