Committing outrageous and violent crimes of the ruling Awami League’s student wing, Bangladesh Chhatra league (BCL), have become a routine matter. We have government that thrives crime and violence. They do not need to be elected to be the government of the people. The government itself is source of crimes and corruption so it is most unreasonable to appeal to the government for stopping crimes, in the name of punishing the criminals more crimes committed. The government itself is not abiding.
Media reports in the national dailies on Saturday said that the BCL activists allegedly gang-raped a newly wed woman keeping her husband confined in a room of the hostel of Sylhet MC College on Friday evening. The boldness of the crime by the government’s own young leaders has put the whole nation to shame.
Being informed, Shah Paran police rescued the rape victim and her husband from the college hostel around 10:00 pm and sent the victim to the One-stop-Crisis Centre of MAG Osmani Hospital. The newly wed couple went to the college in a private car on Friday afternoon to visit the campus.
According to police sources, a group of some seven students, including Shah Mahbubur Rahman Rony, a masters’ student of English Department of the college, Saifur Rahman, Arzun Laskar and others forcefully took the couple to the college hostel in the evening, kept them hostage at arms point and raped the woman one after another. Police recovered a pistol, four sharp weapons and some iron rods from the room of the hostel superintendent, the accused Saifur used to live.
In this context, husband of the victim has filed a case — accusing six named and several unnamed persons — with Shah Poran Police Station, while police filed an arms case against Saifur.
Meanwhile, general students of the college on Saturday staged demonstrations setting fire on the road in front of the college, protesting the rape incident. They blocked the road demanding arrest of the rapists. They alleged that though the college authorities were aware of various criminal activities in the dormitories, they did not shut those down.
We are helpless and worthless bystanders to see that crimes are committed with impunity by the government supporters and police cases are no deterrent. The NGOs of women rights are silent because rape is neither a crime to them nor does it defame their character as women. When a reputedly characterless and government planted woman is called, under provocation, characterless only then the honour of women is undermined. Violent rape or gang rape is not crime to them to be taken up as cause worth fighting.
We are encouraged to know that the students of the college have demonstrated against the crime on the college premises. However, we object to their demand to punishment because it is most likely that the wrong persons will be victimised.
We, the elders have tried and suffered but in vain. We failed to noting sanity. The required change can be brought about by the young ones. The young students are needed to clean up the education institutions of the criminals. How the student leader could use the room of the college superintendent to commit crimes. For changing the system of crime ridden government and ensuring that real criminals are punished only the young ones are the agents of change everywhere where the government is for the government and peaceful change is impossible.
We are deeply ashamed for the gang rape and our heart-felt sympathy lies with the victim for the barbarism. The government knows they have nothing to worry, we are all purchasable cowards.
