THERE are no words to express the shock and disgust at the sexual assault of young women and a minor at the Suhrawardy Udyan gate near the TSC area by 30 or 40 hooligans on the first day of Baishakh. It is unthinkable that some of the attackers were university students and one of the victims a ten-year-old girl whose dress was torn and who had bite marks on her body. One of the women had her clothes ripped off. It was a few courageous members of Bangladesh Chhatra Union who rescued the women and child, braving injury to themselves.

How was this possible with law enforcers being stationed only 20 yards from the spot? The assault, according to reports, continued for a good one hour – but no police came forward to stop the despicable crime. According to one of the rescuers, when asked for help the police said that the area was beyond their jurisdiction! Women were being sexually assaulted in an area they had been assigned to protect and this was not in their jurisdiction? The rescuers have said that they had handed five of the culprits to the police but two hours later all of them were released. This raises the suspicion that the culprits had enough influence to go scot free.

The apathy of law enforcers is deplorable and reveals one of the reasons why these horrible incidents have been repeated in recent months. Attackers of women on the DU campus, near TSC, inside the Ekushey Boi Mela, have got away on several occasions because the police did nothing to stop them. 

We demand this reprehensible crime be investigated thoroughly, the perverts caught and given the harshest punishment.