Ms. Halima Begum, a victim of a gang rape that occurred around 2:30 AM on the night of April 8, 2023, in Chhotobagi Union of Taltali Upazila, Barguna, has held a press conference.
Victim Halima informed BDM (Bangladesh Minority Watch) about the incident.
Alleging that the Taltali police are pressuring her to compromise with the accused in the rape case, the victim held a press conference at the Barguna Press Club conference room at 11:00 AM on Monday, May 21, 2023. She stated, "My house is in Bethipara, Taltali. On the night of April 8, 2023, at approximately 2:30 AM, Enayet Pyada (35), son of the late Nazir Pyada of the same village, along with three other unidentified individuals, broke into our house by cutting the door latch. They tied the hands and feet of both me and my elder sister Rubbani (a third-gender individual) and sealed our mouths with tape. First, the accused Enayet, and then the other three accused, took turns raping me. On April 9, 2023, I filed a case at the Taltali Police Station, naming one person and three other unidentified individuals as accused, Case No. GR 40/2023."
Advocate Rabindra Ghosh, President of Bangladesh Minority Watch, reported that the victim, Halima, said, "The Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Taltali Police Station, Kazi Shakhawat Hossain Topu, assigned SI Md. Faridul Islam to investigate the case. The investigating officer, Faridul Islam, on multiple occasions, proposed to the victim's elder sister and the second witness in the case, Rubbani, that they withdraw the case. He threatened that if the case was not withdrawn, a case of extortion would be filed against them. As they did not agree to his proposal, an extortion case was filed against my sister Rubbani with a backdate of April 5, 2023, and she was arrested. She was released on bail after serving 7 days in jail. As the number one accused, Enayet, is a UP member and is out on bail in the rape case, he is repeatedly threatening us to withdraw the case. Despite informing the police station about this multiple times, the OC is not taking any action. I want proper justice for this."
The President of BDM stated that when he informed the DIG of the Barisal division about the incident over the phone, the DIG assured him that he would take immediate action. However, when the Superintendent of Police of Barguna was informed about the incident via phone, he reportedly said, "You come and investigate," and then hung up. When the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Taltali Police Station, Kazi Shakhawat Hossain, was asked about the incident, he said that legal action would be taken against the accused pending a fair investigation. When asked about victim Halima's allegations against investigating officer Faridul Islam, the OC stated, "The claim that the investigating officer proposed to the victim to withdraw the rape case is false, and the police did not propose any compromise."
The President of BDM has strongly condemned this incident and demanded that the culprits be brought under the law and given exemplary punishment following a fair investigation.
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