Protests erupt in Dhaka University over student’s rape
Dhaka: Protests erupted in the Dhaka University (DU) over the rape of a student, with the participants raising concerns over womens safety in the Bangladeshi capital and also across the country, it was reported on Tuesday.
The rape took place on Sunday night near the Kurmitola General Hospital, just a few metres away the Airport Road, one of the busiest thoroughfares in the capital, reports The Daily Star newspaper.
It happened when the second-year student was walking from the Kurmitola bus stop to a friend’s house in the nearby Sheora area.
The university students on Monday protested throughout the day. At one point, they gave the authorities a 48-hour ultimatum to arrest the perpetrators, warning that they would wage a tough movement if their demand was not met.
Many students also took to social media to express their anger at the lack of women safety in the country.
The police was yet to make any arrest in the case.
Meanwhile, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials on Monday collected evidence, including a wrist watch and a key-ring, from the crime scene.
According to the victim’s friends, she was also tortured besides being raped.
DU Vice Chancellor Professor Akhtaruzzaman told the media on Monday that the university authorities would do everything necessary so that the victim gets justice.
Rights body Ain O Salish Kendra condemned the incident and said: “Increasing violence against women has become one of the major concerns in our lives. It is undoubtedly a weakness of the state that it cannot ensure the environment conducive to women’s safe movement,” The Daily Star reported.
A total of 1,413 women in Bangladesh were either gang-raped or subjected to rape last year.
Of them, 76 were killed after rape and 10 others died by suicide, according to the rights body.
