‘Rape, Abduction’: Woman shows up at police station, then disappears
The "rape victim, who was abducted" from Khulna Medical College Hospital on Sunday afternoon, showed up at a police station and said she left the hospital on her own and was not forced.
Since then, she has been traceless.
The Daily Star correspondent went to her home yesterday and her mother and grandmother said they had no knowledge about her whereabouts.
On Sunday, a brother of the woman told The Daily Star, "Ejaz Ahmed [Dumuria upazila chairman] took my sister to his office around 8:00pm on Saturday and raped her there."
She went to the one-stop crisis centre of the KMCH that night and was allegedly kidnapped as she walked out of the centre Sunday afternoon.
Rights activists, who witnessed the "kidnapping" and were beaten up by the "abductors" around 5:30pm on Sunday, yesterday said the woman might have been intimidated into saying such things to police, not filing any case, and disappearing.
About five hours after the woman was allegedly kidnapped, she showed up, with her mother, at the Sonadanga Police Station in Khulna around 11:00pm on Sunday.
She told police that she left the hospital on her own. A handful of journalists, including The Daily Star correspondent, were present.
"No one kidnapped me. I left the OCC [one-stop crisis centre] on my own and then I went to one of my relatives' home," she said.
Asked about the rape incident, the woman said, "I am very sick now. I have difficulty speaking. I will tell you everything after getting better."
The woman then left the police station.
The victim's grandmother yesterday said, "We have land-related disputes with some neighbours. My granddaughter went out on Saturday afternoon to meet the upazila chairman to discuss the matter.
"But my granddaughter did not return. Around 8:00pm that day, someone called me over the phone and said my granddaughter would not return home that night. Around 11:00pm, one of our neighbours told me that my granddaughter was admitted to the hospital," she said.
Resident Medical Officer Suman Roy of the KMCH on Sunday said the woman told him that she had been raped.
"But she did not say who raped her. She even told me that she wanted to file a case with a court, not with any police station since she did not trust the police," Suman told The Daily Star on Sunday.
On Sunday afternoon, rights activists were waiting in front of the OCC of the KMCH to offer the woman legal support.
Mominul Islam, the Khulna divisional coordinator for the Bangladesh Human Rights Implementation Organisation, said, "Ten to 12 people were waiting in front of the crisis centre with a microbus. As soon as the rape victim came out around 5:00pm, she was forcibly put into the vehicle and whisked away. At that time, we were also beaten up."
Mominul yesterday said the woman might have been threatened and intimidated by criminals.
Inspector (investigation) Md Amirul Islam of Sonadanga Police Station said, "As the woman did not file any complaint or case, we cannot take legal action against anyone."
The victim's brother, who had made the rape allegation, could not be contacted over phone yesterday.
Upazila Chairman Ejaz also could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Forum Bangladesh, a platform of rights bodies, in a statement yesterday expressed concern over the incident and demanded an impartial probe and justice.
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