National Human Rights Commission Chairman Mizanur Rahman has said religious bigotry and male dominated politics were the reasons behind the incidents of sexual harassment during Pohela Boishakh celebration.
He made the statement while addressing the media in the conference room of NHRC around 10:30am Monday.
He said: “We have identified religious bigotry and male dominated politics as the two points which led to the incident.”
Condemning the incident, Mizanur said: “Police have given callous statements because they are trying to avoid their responsibilities.
“They have not even disclose the footage of 16 no CCTV camera, which is fishy.”
The human rights chairman also said the disclosure of the footage is important to identify the culprits.
Talking about police's statement about the victims not being undressed, he said: “People can be sexually harassed even because of gaze and words. This sort of statements are not expected from the police.”
Terming the act as pre-planned, he also criticised the role of the Dhaka University proctor regarding the incidents.
When thousands of people were celebrating the Pohela Boishakh, gangs of unruly youths swooped on around five to seven women and sexually harassed them at Suhrawardy Udyan and some parts of Dhaka University campus.
The attackers were honking vuvuzelas during the assaults to suppress the victims’ screams, witnesses said adding that they also filmed the incidents with inhuman enthusiasm.
Bangladesh Students’ Union DU unit President Liton Nandi received severe injuries while trying to rescue a woman near the TSC.
