The abduction of an alleged rape victim from a government hospital and her statement of denial at the police station triggered many questions among the dwellers in Khulna city and on social media yesterday.
The 28-year-old rape victim was abducted from the one-stop crisis centre (OCC) of Khulna Medical College Hospital on Sunday. Before this outrageous incident occurred, her family members alleged that Dumuria Upazila Parishad Chairman Gazi Ejaz Ahmed had raped the woman in his personal office located in the Shahpur area of the upazila on Saturday.
They told the physicians that the girl had gone to the OCC to collect a report in order to file a case.
OCC Coordinator Suman Roy said the physicians of the gynaecology department conducted a medical examination on the woman. The results would be known soon, he added.
According to the divisional coordinator for the Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights in Khulna Mominul Islam, a seven-member delegation of the organization went to the OCC on Sunday afternoon to provide legal assistance to the victim. At around 5:30pm, an unknown person was seen taking the clearance papers of the woman from the OCC.
Asked about his identity, the person in charge of the OCC forced everyone out, he said.
“Within a few seconds of coming out, 15-20 people forcibly took the woman and her mother in a microbus. Two journalists were injured during the scuffle.
“The OCC is a safe haven for rape survivors. We are horrified at the way the victim was abducted from there. OCC security officers were silent throughout. The role of hospital officials is also questionable,” he added.
He said that the abductors were already waiting in front of the OCC with a microbus when the woman went to the OCC. As soon as that girl came out with the report, she was forced into the automobile. Relatives, media persons and human rights activists, who were at the one-stop crisis centre to assist the woman, were attacked during the abduction.
According to media reports, Rudaghara Union Parishad (UP) Chairman Gazi Touhiduzzaman, a cousin of Chairman Ejaz, pushed journalists away while they were taking photographs of the total incident. The alleged kidnappers also tried to snatch away the cameras of Jamuna TV and SA TV journalists.
However, the victim came to the police station on Monday in the same microbus in which she was abducted. She told the police and journalist there that she was not abducted and that she had gone willingly with her relatives.
After the incident, Gazi Touhiduzzaman was captured by some locals. He was later handed over to the police.
Amirul Islam, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Sonadanga police station, said the woman confessed during interrogation that Chairman Ejaz did not rape her. Besides, no one abducted her from the OCC. She was admitted to the OCC by her brother and after getting clearance from there, she left for Jessore.
Amirul Islam also said that the woman did not file any complaint against Ejaz's cousin, Gazi Touhiduzzaman. As a result, the police had to release him.
Previous claims
The woman told a doctor at the OCC on Sunday that Chairman Ejaz raped her on Saturday night. She also said that she wanted to file a case with a court, as she did not trust the police.
The woman said that she had been involved in a physical relationship with the chairman for four to five years. On Saturday night, after raping the woman, he refused to marry her when she asked.
Chairman Ejaz said he did not know anything about the matter.