BANGLADESH: Investigating officer of a rape case is colleague of the accused

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a police officer raped a woman on 7 October 2008 but due to tardy action by police authorities the officer was able to escape arrest. A colleague of the accused has been assigned as the investigating officer.

CASE DETAILS:

A man known as Mr. Farukh Hossain made calls to Ms. Sad (real name withheld for security reason) in which he made explicit sexual suggestions. He also verbally harassed Ms. Sad who is a married woman that lives in a rented house with her six-year-old daughter and mother in Rajshahi city. Her husband currently lives in another city.

At 3:30pm, on 6 October 2008, during her absence, Farukh came to her house by a motorbike with another man who was later identified as Mr. Abdul Hamid, Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) attached to the Boalia Model Police Station of the Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP). They argued with her mother about her presence at the house. When her mother refused to open the door, they abused her verbally and left saying that they would come again.

At 3:34pm the next day they returned to the house. Finding the main door was unlocked, they entered. When Sad saw them, she asked the reason for their entrance. Without revealing his name, the ASI replied, “Don’t you know who I am? We are from the police. I am a ‘Daroga’ (Sub Inspector) of the police”. Then, Sad asked them to get out of the house. Suddenly, the ASI forcibly dragged Sad to a room and closed the door while Farukh pushed her mother and daughter to another room. The ASI warned her not to shout and raped her. During this time, Sad’s mother heard Sad crying from the other room.

After a while, the ASI opened the door and left the house along with Farukh. A few minutes later, Sad received a threat call from Farukh on her mobile phone saying, “This time I brought the police to rape you; next time I would bring the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) for the same job!”.  He further threatened to kill her if the incident was disclosed in public.

After this death threat, Sad informed this incident to her relatives and went to the One Stop Crisis Centre (OCC) of the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) at around 7:15pm on the day where she was examined at the Forensic Medicine Department. A clinician collected the sample for DNA examination. However, her medical report has yet to be made available.

Sad’s relative called Farukh’s mobile phone at 1:30am on October 8 and learned the identity of the ASI. At midnight on the same day when Sad was admitted at the OCC for medical treatment, a staff of OCC sent a written complaint to the Boalia Model Police Station against the ASI for committing rape and against Farukh for assisting the ASI to rape and intimidating her mother respectively. Meanwhile Abdul Hamid had been on duty at the Tiger Mandap in the Raninagar area of the Rajshahi city on the occasion of the ‘Durga Puja’ (a religious festival) of the Hindu community since October 5.

However, at 2:30pm on October 9, the Boalia police recorded the complaint as a First Information Report (FIR) (No. 5, under Section 9(1) and 30 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act of 2000) by which time he had run away. It is alleged that the police have not properly intervene in this case, which resulted in the escape of Abdul Hamid. On same day, he was temporarily suspended by the RMP authorities. Mr. Abdus Sattar, Sub Inspector (SI) of the same police station, was assigned as an Investigation Officer (IO) for this case and the police collected the dress, bed sheet and other materials from the Sad’s house as evidence. However, the IO is known to be a colleague of Abdul Hamid.

On October 10, local newspapers covered this incident and the police arrested Farukh on October 15 but they have so far failed to arrest Abdul Hamid.

Sad had been kept at the OCC till October 18 but the OCC authorities did not allow her to meet any member of human rights organizations or media during the period of her stay in the hospital. Further those officials, Dr. Emdadur Rahman and Dr. Nasrin Begum Doty of the Forensic Medicine Department, and Dr. Mozahar Hossain Bulbul and the Coordinator of the OCC of the RMCH who examined Sad have denied providing any information on their findings which is unlikely in a normal rape case.

According to human rights groups, there remain concerns about the impartiality and transparency of the report and the case itself. They also worry about the possible destruction of evidence as the IO is a colleague of the accused.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

The incidents of rape by police are not new in Bangladesh. However the number of cases will be much more than those actually reported as the fact of the case are fabricated or evidence are destroyed. Despite serious criticism by the human rights groups and the media, the police still assign colleagues of the accused to investigate a case where police are involved.

The concept of ‘Model Police Stations’ was brought before the public with the hope that the police will abide by the laws and change their deteriorated reputation among people. However, the very basic mandate of police agencies that thoroughly investigate the case reported, properly prosecute and punish according to law is not changed, the problem will remain unsolved.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the relevant authorities to investigate into this alleged incident of rape asking them to bring those responsible to justice in accordance with the law.

The AHRC has also written separate letters to Special Rapporteure on Violence Against Women calling for intervention in this case.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER