A Dhaka court on Thursday granted bail to Mostafa Asif, who was arrested in connection with the harassment of a female student on the Dhaka University (DU) campus. Hours later, the female student withdrew the case under "pressure", said her peers.
“What else could I do,” the plaintiff told this correspondent when she was contacted.
Earlier in the day, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mehera Mahbub issued the bail order for Asif upon completion of the hearing, setting bail at a bond of Tk1,000.
SI Abul Kalam Azad of the General Registration Branch (Women and Children) at Shahbagh police station confirmed the bail order.
He said the plaintiff had applied to withdraw the case, and the accused party subsequently submitted a bail petition, which was granted by the court.
During the court proceedings, the investigating officer of the case, Shahbagh police station Sub-Inspector (SI) Toufiq Hasan presented the accused before the court and requested that he be remanded in custody, reported UNB.
In defence of the accused, lawyer Azmat Hossain filed a bail petition, arguing that his client was not involved in the incident and had been falsely implicated with malicious intent.
He further asserted that the accused was entirely innocent and urged the court to grant bail.
Following the hearing, the court approved the bail request.
According to the complaint, on Wednesday, at approximately 1:30pm, the student was walking with a friend from the National Museum towards the university campus.
Upon reaching the Raju Memorial Sculpture, Asif approached her and questioned why she was not wearing a veil.
When the student attempted to call the university proctor, the accused fled the scene.
She later informed her classmates and shared the incident on Facebook.
