A housewife, who was allegedly raped by a gang in the past month, demanded the immediate arrest of the rapists and proper justice.
鈥楾he rapists are roaming free in front of our eyes. They are laughing at me and making offensive remarks about my family members,鈥� she said while addressing a press conference with her husband at the office of the Rajshahi Photojournalist Association on Saturday.
The woman reported that the rapists used to gather and take drugs inside a neighbouring government warehouse in the Shiroil area of Rajshahi city. After the police arrested some of them from the warehouse, they beat her husband on May 2, suspecting the latter had provided their information to the police.
鈥楾hree days later, while I was returning home from the market at 9:00pm on May 5, a group of six of them blocked my rickshaw and took me to nearby shrubbery, where they raped me,鈥� the housewife said.
She stated that at one point during the brutal assault, she lost consciousness, and the rapists fled, believing she had died from excessive bleeding.
鈥楢fter hearing my groans at about 2:00am, locals rescued me and informed my family, who admitted me to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital in critical condition,鈥� she continued.
The victim鈥檚 husband alleged that after doctors released his wife from the hospital on May 7, he went to Chandrima police station, but the officials there asked him to file a case with the court.
鈥榃e then filed a rape case against six people with the court on May 9,鈥� he said, adding, 鈥楾he police are aggravated with us for filing the case.
He also expressed doubts about a fair investigation into the case, as the police had not arrested any of the accused, although they were roaming free.
Chandrima police station officer-in-charge Mahbub Hossain said that he was on leave when the incident happened and was later informed that the victim did not go to the police station to file a case.
鈥楬owever, a case was filed with the court in this connection. We are investigating the case and trying to arrest the accused,鈥� he added.