Staff Reporter :
On an average, every day more than one woman became victim of rape in different parts of Dhaka city and over 90 pc of the accused were arrested, according to the data collected from the rape cases filed with different police stations under Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) in the first eight months of this year.
Reviewing the data, it was found that Police, however, were able to arrest most of the accused involved with these incidents in less than a week from the date of filing cases.
According to DMP, a total of 314 women filed rape cases in 50 police stations under its jurisdictions between January and August.
Of them, 42 were raped in January, 45 in February, 46 in March, 12 in April, 15 in May, 49 in June, 52 in July, and 53 in August, according to data.
But in 2019, as many as 353 women were raped in Dhaka city during the same time period.
Although that number is less than that of last year, human rights activists have still expressed concern.
DMP Deputy Commissioner (Media and Public Relations) Walid Hossain told the New Nation that “Police tend to arrest the culprits immediately after the incident. But police security done cannot stop this crime.”
“We have to build a social movement to prevent rape. Giving of death punishment frequently, the crime can be checked.
The picture of rape cases in the capital as well as across the country amid the Covid-19 pandemic is even grimmer.
According to data from the Police Headquarters, 5,400 women filed rape cases across the country in 2019, while 3,900 cases were lodged in 2018.
According to police’s estimates, 26 women died as a result of rape last year. The number was 21 in 2018.
Human rights activist Nur Khan Liton told the New Nation that “Even though Dhaka is the country’s capital city, women’s security is not enough. The number of working women in the capital is high and many of them live in the city and have to go out at night.
“It has not yet been possible to create a safe city for them. Police are always busy. The issue of women’s safety is still neglected.”
“We need to create a strong security system in the capital so that no more rape case takes place.”
