Rape on JU campus: BCL leader, three others arrested

Police have arrested four people, including a Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) leader, for allegedly gang raping a woman after holding her husband captive on the Jahangirnagar University (JU) campus.

Meanwhile, teachers and students of JU staged a demonstration and formed a human chain demanding capital punishment of those involved in the rape.

Superintendent of Police Abdullahil Kafi confirmed the arrest of the accused at a press conference on Sunday.

Earlier, prime accused Mustafizur Rahman Khan, a student of the 45th batch of International Relations Department and international affairs secretary of BCL, JU unit, was arrested from Savar bus stand area around 7am.

The other arrestees are Mostafa Monwar alias Sagar Siddique, Hasanuzzaman, students of International Relations department and Sabbir Hossain, a student of Botany department, for helping the prime accused escape.

All of them are known to be followers of BCL university unit president Akhtaruzzaman Sohel.

However, the central BCL expelled Mustafizur after the incident.

Another accused Mamun, 45, and Murad, a student of the Department of International Relations, tied up the victim's husband Robin and beat him up.

Meanwhile, teachers and students of JU staged a demonstration and formed a human chain demanding capital punishment for those involved in the rape.

Their programme began at 11:30 am and then they held a brief rally in front of the new administrative building of the university. Speakers at the rally demanded the resignation of the Vice-Chancellor for the failure of the university administration in this incident.

The victim, a resident of Ashulia, said that the accused Mamun used to rent a room in their house and had prior acquaintance with Mostafizur. Mamun occasionally stayed with Mostafizur in Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall. Mamun had invited her husband to visit the university under the pretext of purchasing furniture.

On the evening of the incident, the victim’s husband informed Mamun about their plan to buy furniture. Mamun then instructed the husband to call his wife to the university, suggesting she bring some clothes for Mamun as he would be staying on campus for a few days. 

Subsequently, Mostafizur and Mamun confined the victim’s husband in room 317 of the ‘A’ block of Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall. When the woman arrived with the clothes, Mamun took them and later deceived her into going to the forested area near the hall under the pretence of meeting her husband at another gate, where she alleges both men raped her.