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Allegations have surfaced of male passengers boarding a Dhaka metro rail carriage reserved for women on a train travelling from Motijheel to Uttara and molesting its passengers, including a child.
Women passengers posted about the incident, which they claim took place on Wednesday afternoon, on social media.
The managing director of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited said the matter came to his attention and investigation was under way.
A passenger named Nilufar Parveen Mitu recounted the details of the incident on a public Facebook group named Bangladesh Metro Railway Information.
The post says she boarded the train at Farmgate and, around 4:50pm on Wednesday, a group of 10-12 men entered the carriage headed to the Uttara North Station and harassed women, including a child.
She said, “Unfortunately, I was in that compartment with a journalist friend. The intense protests and screams alerted the women, overcoming their reluctance. They began to tell the men to get off the train. The young man who abused the child got off quickly first.”
Mitu, a doctor by profession, told bdnews24.com on Thursday that she boarded the train from the Farmgate station. When the train left the station, a woman came to the door of the compartment with tears in her eyes, asking them to clear the way for her to get off the train. When Mitu and others asked her why, the woman said that she and her daughter had been sexually harassed.
“She was saying that someone had put their hand inside her daughter’s pants. They had abused her very badly. At first, I didn’t understand how it was possible in a women’s compartment. Later, she pointed to the back and saw that there were 10-12 male passengers there. They were the ones harassing the girls in this way.”
Another passenger in the women's compartment, private university student Probha Mahbub, told bdnews24.com that after she boarded the train from Karwan Bazar, she saw some men in the compartment. When a girl screamed as the train crossed the Farmgate station, the girl's mother spoke up to others about the matter.
"After that incident, the child's mother also started crying. Then everyone asked the men to get off the carriage. They started getting off in twos or threes from Agargaon, and those who were still on board in order to reach Mirpur10 Station were sent to another compartment."
Mitu and Probha told bdnews24.com that the harassed woman got off at Agargaon Station with her daughter. Due to the size of the crowd, they were unable to get their names, identities, or contact number.
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Managing Director Faruque Ahmed told bdnews24.com said: “Police have been on duty for the safety of the train passengers for the last three days. After learning about the matter, we are investigating.”
“However, I do not have the details of the incident as the post did not mention at which station the incident occurred and at which station they complained. If they contact me, perhaps I can be informed about the whole incident. I have also spoken to the DIG [deputy inspector general] of MRT Police regarding this.”
The DMTCL Managing Director said that men are prohibited from boarding women's compartments and it is unfortunate that the rules were breached.
“It should be followed, but for many of us, it has become a part of their character to disobey the law. If that is the case, how can we change?”
Faruque said that, after this incident, he will instruct the police personnel on duty to stand next to the women's compartments.
“The police are already on duty in the metro rail. I am instructing them to take up positions in the carriage next to the women's designated carriage."