Ruma (not real name), 24, was on cloud nine when she went to Suhrawardy Udyan on the evening of May 12. Little did she know that her dreams would be shattered by the very man who had promised to make them come true.
Her boyfriend, Naim, 27, had promised her that they would get married that day. When she went to meet him with her sister, Tumpa (not real name), she was raped by Naim and his friends while Tumpa was restrained, forced to witness the barbaric event.
Now Ruma is living in uncertainty, wondering if she will get justice.
Her family accused police of not taking action deliberately in exchange of a huge sum of money.
Ruma could not be reached over phone, and her family said she no longer lived with them.
Tumpa, however, was available and gave the Dhaka Tribune an account of what happened.
Ruma met Naim at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital 15 days before the incident. They exchanged mobile phone numbers, and their relationship started.
On the day of the incident, Naim asked Ruma to marry him and told her to meet him at Suhrawardy Udyan in the evening. When she went there with Tumpa, she met Naim’s friends Shahin, 27, Rubel, 24, Imran, 28, and Habib, 45. The group passed a few hours chatting; Naim kept telling Ruma that the wedding preparations were taking a while.
Around 11pm, the guys took the girls to the Kali Temple in the park and raped Ruma, while a man named Kabil restrained Tumpa.
Around midnight, the culprits hired a rickshaw for the sisters to go home and threatened them not to go to police.
However, the victim’s rickshaw was stopped by the patrol police near Nilkhet area, where she told them about the rape. The police then took them to Shahbagh police station. Later, they were taken to the Detective Branch.
Habil Hossain, inspector (investigation) at the police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that Ruma did not have any details about Naim other than his name, phone number and a few photographs.
He said she was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for forensic test on May 14.
Tumpa said their family were living in fear as the culprits had not been arrested yet.
“They are threatening us to withdraw the case. My sister has been sent away. I am afraid of going to school now,” she told the Dhaka Tribune.
Tumpa said Ruma followed DB officials’ advice and planned twice to convince the rapists to meet her, so that she could tip off the police and they could arrest them.
However, her plan was thwarted both the times as police did not respond when Ruma sought their help.
When asked about the accusation, Inspector Habil Hossain denied them all, saying police had been trying to apprehend the rapists.
“We have also informed the police station in their locality to ensure their safety. But we suspect the victim has left town,” he said.