At least 21 women were either ‘raped’ or ‘gang raped’ in public transports across the country in the last 13 months, Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, a ‘passengers’ welfare platform’, said on Thursday.
Nine of them were gang raped by drivers and helpers of the vehicles while the rest in other 12 incidents, according to a report published by the organisation.
Cases were filed in all the incidents except a ‘gang rape’ incident that happened in Manikganj on April 9, 2017. Law enforcers have so far arrested 55 people in connection with the incidents, the organisation said in its report prepared based on media reports.
On January 21, 2017, a Dhaka University student filed a sexual harassment case with Darusslam Police Station accusing a bus driver and a helper of Gabtali-Nabinagar route.
The incident happened at Gabtali Bus Terminal. Later, police arrested the duo, according to the report. A schoolgirl was ‘gang raped’ by an easybike driver and two others as she failed to pay the ride fare in Almadanga of Chuadanga on November 13, 2017.
On April 9, 2017, a woman was ‘raped’ in front of her husband in a running bus on Dhaka-Aricha highway.
On July 31, 2017, a girl was ‘gang raped’ in a bus of ‘Padma Paribahan’ at Roumari of Kurigram on her way to Dhaka.
On way to Narayanganj from Gazipur, driver Mahedi Hassan and his aid Sohan allegedly gang raped a teenage girl on the moving truck on August 1, 2017. Later, police arrested the driver.
On August 8, 2017, a man, Imran Hossain, tried to violate a girl in a car in Dhaka’s Banani area after kidnapping her. Police arrested the culprit and seized the car.
On August 11, 2017, a madrasah 7th grader in Muktagacha of Mymensingh was repeatedly ‘gang raped’ by leguna driver Joynal Abedin and helper Ripon. Later, police arrested them after the victim’s uncle filed a case.
The reports also mentioned that Zakia Sultana Rupa was ‘raped’ and killed in a bus heading to Mymensingh by the driver and three of his assistants on August 25, last year.
A Tangail court on February 12 this year sentenced the driver and his three assistants to death and handed seven years imprisonment to the bus supervisor for the offences.
The organisation also mentioned the details of the other incidents in its report.
