DU students rally overnight, Highways blocked at places, 2,016 rape cases reported in six months, JCD to form human chains at all edn instts听听听听
Protests against rape spread across the country on Sunday demanding capital punishment for perpetrators and safety for women.
The Dhaka University students held overnight protests while protesters blocked highways, formed human chains, held rallies and brought out processions in many other areas across the country.
Students of different public universities and other educational institutions, including Jahangirnagar University, Rajshahi University and Islamic University, Kusthia, blocked Dhaka-Aricha, Dhaka-Khulna, Dhaka-Rajshahi and Khulna-Kusthia highways, demanding death penalty for the rapists.
The High Court on the day directed the inspector general of police to make sure that the ongoing investigation into the Magura girl child鈥檚 rape allegations is finished within 30 days and also ordered to carry out the trial within 180 days.
The bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury issued the directives following a public interest litigation writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyers ABM Hamidul Mishbah and Syed Mohsib Hossain.
Amid protests by different sections of people, including university students and teachers, the government later on the day said that it would bring some amendments to the laws to complete rape case probes within 15 days and trial within 90 days.
鈥楾he current law allows 30 days for completing rape case investigation and 180 days for completing the trial, but the government has decided to complete probes by 15 days and trial within 90 days,鈥� law adviser Asif Nazrul told reporters after holding a core committee meeting on law and order at the secretariat.
Referring to the existing law, he said that the provision of appointing a new officer in case of failure in completing probe by 30 days would be removed.
He said that the investigation officer must complete the investigation during the timeframe or face consequences in the forthcoming amendment.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party鈥檚 student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal on Sunday announced that it would organise human chains in educational institutions across the country on Monday to protest the growing incidents of rape, online harassment and violence against women.
According to the Police Headquarters data, 2,016 rape cases were filed in six months between August 2024 and January 2025 across the country.
A month-wise breakdown of the cases is鈥�263 rape cases were filed in August, 390 in September, 384 in October, 321 in November, 266 in December, and 392 in January 2025.听
抖阴精品 correspondent in Dhaka University reported that its students staged processions and sit-ins on the campus early Sunday, protesting at the spate of rapes and violence against women recently perpetrated.
About midnight past Saturday, the female students of the university鈥檚 Kabi Sufia Kamal Hall took to the streets in a protest march. Sometime later they were joined by both male and female students from other halls, including the Dr Muhammad Shahidullah Hall. They also held a sit-in at the base of the Anti-Terrorism Raju Memorial Sculpture, demanding stern punishment for rapists and sexual abusers. The protests continued till about 3:00am.
Addressing the rally, Umama Fatema, spokesperson of the Student Against Discrimination, the platform that led the mass uprising to oust the Sheikh Hasina-led regime on August 5, 2024, said at a rally organised at this time that the government must ensure punishment for the rapists of a girl child in Magura, who was in life support as of 9.25pm Sunday when this report was filed.
Umama demanded the government to arrest the 鈥榬apists鈥� and produce before the court by next 24 hours, warning that the home minister would have to resign otherwise.
The protest rally also announced a platform named Dharshan-Birodhi Mancha (anti-rape platform) and on Sunday evening, under the platform students brought out a torch procession on the campus.
At rally after the torch procession, the anti-rape platform raised a five-point charter of demand, saying that the probe report of the Magura child rape case must be submitted within seven days, trial must be completed within one month through a special tribunal and security of the girl鈥檚 family must be ensured.
Their other demands include鈥攅nsure speedy trial of all rape cases under special tribunal with beginning the trial process within three working days; law adviser, home adviser and women and children affairs adviser must take responsibility for their failure to control these incidents, and form an Anti-Women and Children Repression Cell in all educational institutions and offices.
On Sunday evening, the DU students under the banner of 鈥楧harshan o Nipiraner Biruddhe Bangladesh鈥� (Bangladesh against rape and oppression) platform also brought out a stick procession on the campus.
The students at different departments at the university also boycotted classes and exams, expressing solidarity with the protest.
Earlier in the morning, teachers and students of different departments at the university staged demonstrations on the same issue.
Addressing a rally organised by the University Teachers鈥� Network, associate professor of accounting at DU Moshahida Sultana condemned the university administration, alleging that it miserably failed to play a responsible role in taking stern measures against one of its staff for perpetrating sexual harassment against a female student of the university in a recent instance.听
She denounced the administration for asking the survivor to file a police case without taking action under the university鈥檚 anti-sexual harassment rules.
The widespread protests sparked after an eight-year-old girl was found in critical condition after she was raped early Thursday while visiting her sister鈥檚 in-laws鈥� house in Magura.
She was transferred from other hospitals to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and finally put on life support being shifted to Combined Military Hospital in the city on Saturday.
Home affairs adviser retired Lieutenant General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Sunday visited CMH to check the patient鈥檚 condition.听
Jahangir stated at this time the rapists had no place in Bangladesh.
鈥榃e have directed law enforcement agencies to take strong position against the rapists and stalkers,鈥� he said, adding that he also directed law enforcers to finish investigations swiftly and submit the reports to court in violence against women cases.听
Dhaka University teachers and students hold a rally, protesting at violence against women, at the Aparajeya Bangla on the campus on Sunday. 鈥� 抖阴精品 photo
A Magura Court on Sunday sent to jail the four accused in the Magura rape case鈥� the child鈥檚 sister鈥檚 husband Sajib Hossain, 18, his father Hitu Mia, 42, Sajib鈥檚 brother Ratul Sheikh, and their mother Jabeda Begum, 40, 抖阴精品 correspondent in Magura reported.
Protesters, including the activists of Students Against Discrimination, besieged the court in Magura demanding capital punishment of rapists.听
At Jahanginagar University also processions were brought out in the small hours of Sunday. A student procession from the university blocked Dhaka-Aricha highway on both sides for half an hour at about 2:30am, demanding capital punishment of rape perpetrators, the university correspondent at 抖阴精品 reported.
Boycotting classes and examinations, several hundred students of Rajshahi University on the day blocked the Rajshahi-Dhaka highway near the university main entrance, protesting at the recent incidents of rape and killings across the country and demanding capital punishment for rapists, 抖阴精品 Staff Correspondent in Rajshahi reported.
The protesting students blocked the highway, halting the traffic movement on both sides of the highway for about an hour starting from 11:40am.
Students of Islamic University in Kushtia on Sunday also staged protests at the Magura child鈥檚 rape, blocking the Khulna-Kushtia highway for about half-an-hour.
In Chattogram, teachers and students at Chittagong University gathered at the Shaheed Minar at 11:30am, condemning the rape of the Magura child, 抖阴精品 staff correspondent in Chattogram reported, demanding stern punishment of the perpetrators in all such incidents.
In Sylhet, students of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology staged demonstrations against the recent spate of rapes, including that of the Magura child, killings and anarchy that gripped the country, 抖阴精品 staff correspondent in Sylhet reported.
Teachers, students and other employees of Sylhet Agricultural University formed a human chain on the campus on Sunday.
Private university teachers and students also staged fierce protest against the recent spate of rape and sexual harassment incidents occurring across the country. Demonstrations were launched at North South University, Independent University, Bangladesh, City University, Southeast University and BRAC University, among others, in the capital on Sunday, demanding exemplary punishment of the perpetrators.
Students of seven colleges, including Dhaka College and Eden College, which were earlier affiliated with Dhaka University, brought out a torch procession from New Market area in the evening, protesting at the rape of the Magura child.
Non-governmental organisations Manusher Jonno Foundation and National Girl Child Advocacy Forum in separate statements expressed concerns over the rise of rape and other forms of violence against girl children and women.
Clockwise from top left, students of Dhaka Medical College hold a rally at the Anti-Violence Raju Memorial Sculpture on Dhaka University campus, Islamic University students hold a protest rally on the campus in Kushtia, Rajshahi University students hold a rally blocking the Dhaka鈥揜ajshahi Highway in front of the main gate of the university, North South University teachers and students hold a rally in front of the university in Dhaka, protesters block the main gate of the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Magura and Independent University, Bangladesh 听teachers and students stage a demonstration on campus in Dhaka protesting at the rape of the eight-year-old girl in Magura and the recent violence against women across the country on Sunday.鈥� 抖阴精品, Focus Bangla, Star Mail and press release
听
