The central committee of a faction of Bangladesh Chhatra Union held a protest rally demanding exemplary punishment for two activists of the National Citizen Party (NCP) accused of raping a female student aboard a launch travelling from Hatiya in Noakhali to Dhaka.
The protest was held at around 8pm on Wednesday at the base of the Raju Sculpture on the Dhaka University campus.
According to reports, a college student was allegedly raped in a cabin of a Dhaka-bound launch from Hatiya on Sunday. Police later arrested two individuals in connection with the incident.
Police said the victim’s father had put her on the launch in Hatiya before the vessel departed for Dhaka. The assault allegedly took place inside one of the launch cabins during the journey.
The two arrested suspects were identified as Md Sakib Uddin, 26, and Md Nuruzzaman Mithu, 32. They were taken into custody on Monday night.
However, no news outlet has confirmed any formal organizational affiliation between the accused and the NCP.
On this issue, Shimul Kumbhkar, general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra Union (one faction), told Dhaka Tribune that although the accused may not hold any official positions, they are followers of Hannan Masud.
“We have also heard from local residents that they are associated with Hannan Masud,” he said.
Addressing the rally, Shimul Kumbhakar also drew attention to several social media groups where, he said, photographs of girls and women of various ages, including children, are shared and subjected to obscene comments and verbal abuse.
He said such groups are rapidly increasing and that a form of organised perversion is being practised within them.
The rally demanded immediate action and legal accountability against those involved in operating such groups that target women with harassment and hateful commentary, as well as against those associated with them.
Leaders and activists from the central, metropolitan and Dhaka University committees of Bangladesh Chhatra Union also spoke at the protest.
