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Hundreds take to street at Dhaka University over student’s rape in Bangladesh

The victim, a second-year student, was undergoing treatment at the DMCH’s One-Stop Crisis Centre. She was taken to the hospital early on Monday.

Hundreds take to street at Dhaka University over student’s rape in Bangladesh

Representational image (Photo: IStock)

Thousands of people protested in the Dhaka University (DU) over the rape of a student, with the participants raising concerns over women’s safety in the Bangladeshi capital and also across the country, according to reports on Tuesday.

The rape took place on Sunday night near the Kurmitola General Hospital, just a few metres away from the Airport Road, one of the busiest thoroughfares in the capital, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

The crime scene near the Kurmitola General Hospital is several yards from the Airport Road, one of the busiest thoroughfares in the capital.

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The students in their hundreds and irrespective of their political affiliations demonstrated throughout the day. At one point, they gave the authorities a 48-hour ultimatum to arrest the rapist(s). Otherwise, they warned they would wage a tough movement.

Many students also took to social media to express their anger at the lack of women safety in the country.

The police was yet to make any arrest in the case.

In other developments, doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) found evidence of rape following forensic tests on the victim, and her father filed a rape case against unknown accused with Cantonment Police Station.

The victim, a second-year student, was undergoing treatment at the DMCH’s One-Stop Crisis Centre. She was taken to the hospital early on Monday.

The Dhaka University student was raped when she was walking from Kurmitola bus stop to a friend’s house in nearby Sheora area. She had just got off a university
bus.

Her friends said she was supposed to get down at Sheora bus stand, but she left the bus in Kurmitola area mistakenly. She was going to the house to study with her friends ahead of exams.

She was brutally raped and tortured there, some of her friends said, quoting her.

After regaining consciousness around 10:00 pm, she somehow went to her friend’s home and her friends then took her to the DMCH.

DU Vice-Chancellor Professor Akhtaruzzaman told the media on Monday that the university authorities would do everything necessary so that the victim gets justice.

Rights body Ain O Salish Kendra condemned the incident and said: “Increasing violence against women has become one of the major concerns in our lives. It is undoubtedly a weakness of the state that it cannot ensure the environment conducive to women’s safe movement,” The Daily Star reported.

A total of 1,413 women in Bangladesh were either gang-raped or subjected to rape last year.

Of them, 76 were killed after rape and 10 others died by suicide, according to the rights body.

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