Four Chhatra League men arrested in alleged campus rape case

Four students of Jahangirnagar University (JU) have been arrested on the charge of raping a woman on the campus after locking her husband in a Boys' Dormitory and taking the wife to the forest next to the dorm. These individuals are affiliated with the university branch of the Chhatra League as leaders and activists.

The arrested accused are Mostafizur Rahman, a 45th batch student of the International Relations Department and International Affairs Secretary of JU Chhatra League, Sagar Siddique from the 46th batch, Hasanuzzaman from the 45th batch of the same department, and Sabbir Hasan Sagor, a 47th batch student of Botany. 

Md Murad and Mamunur Rashid are two additional accused currently evading capture; among them, Mamunur Rashid is not a university student.

Abdullahil Kafi, Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Obs) of Dhaka, confirmed this information through a press conference on Sunday. 

Earlier, the accused were arrested in late-night raids on Saturday. After the press conference, the accused were sent to Dhaka court.

During the press conference, he stated that the victim's husband lodged a case with the Ashulia police station, implicating six individuals as suspects. Mostafiz and Mamunur Rashid are accused of rape in the case, while the other four are charged with assault and aiding the accused in fleeing.

"The victim has been referred to the One Stop Crisis Center at Dhaka Medical College Hospital for a medical examination. The accused have been presented in court to request a 7-day remand," Mr Kafi remarked.

Proctor ASM Firoz-ul-Hasan said, 'We will cooperate with the police for any investigation conducted on campus or any legal action taken against the accused.

Earlier on Saturday, around 9:30 pm, Mostafizur Rahman and Mamunur Rashid Mamun, the accused, purportedly alternated in raping the wife at the botanical garden while they held the husband captive in room no. 317 of Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall at JU.

Protest for protection

Upon learning of the incident, progressive students initiated a protest march in front of Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall on Saturday at midnight. Students also conducted a sit-in demonstration at the location till morning.

The Bangla department organised a human chain and protest rally on Sunday morning, joined by university faculty and students. They barricaded the administrative building and presented three demands to the vice chancellor: immediate filing of a case against the accused by the university, expulsion of the students with expired studentship, and suspension of syndicate meetings until the rape trial starts.

During the protest rally, Professor Shamima Sultana, the head of the Bangla department, expressed that the university's administration was displaying apathy and could not effectively operate. 

She stated, "As the administration fails to address injustices committed by illegal students, they cannot be trusted to handle the current incident also."

She called for the cancellation of certificates for those involved in the incident and demanded the resignation of the procedural body.

The JU pro-Awami teachers' organisation, Bangabandhu Shikkhak Parishad, strongly condemned the incident and demanded severe punishment for the perpetrators. In a circular signed by Bashir Ahmed, the organisation's member secretary, they urged the expulsion of non-students within seven days, discontinuing the Gono-room, enhancing campus security measures, including CCTV surveillance, and stricter control of external entry points.

Labelling the incident as 'monstrous,' the JU Teachers' Association condemned it and called for exemplary punishment for those responsible. To secure housing for regular students, both the university and the hall administration urged a joint initiative to promptly evacuate non-students, former students, and ward quota students from the dormitories.

Mostafizur Rahman, the International Affairs Secretary, faced permanent expulsion from the Central Chhatra League on Sunday, following the temporary expulsion order and the university branch of Chhatra League's recommendation on Saturday. 

Additionally, supporters of Chhatra League General Secretary Habibur Rahman Liton formed a human chain at Shahid Minar on Sunday morning. Later in the afternoon, another anti-rape human chain and protest rally took place in front of Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall with the presence of Branch Chhatra League President Aktaruzzaman Sohel.

Community outcry

The chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Kamal Uddin Ahmed, has voiced deep concern regarding the gang rape of a woman while her husband was held captive at Jahangirnagar University. Ahmed conveyed this concern through a notification issued on Sunday, condemning such reprehensible acts within a university campus. 

He emphasised the need to investigate the recurring incidents of rape and sexual harassment at the university and address the underlying causes. Students from Dhaka University organised a human chain demanding severe punishment for the perpetrators of the rape incident in JU.

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