Rights groups demand immediate action, protection for Cumilla rape survivor

Several women's rights organisations from Dhaka and Cumilla have called for the immediate recording of the victim's statement before an executive magistrate under Section 22 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, following the alleged rape and abuse of a Hindu woman in Muradnagar upazila of Cumilla.

The organisations said the survivor has repeatedly declined to undergo medical tests due to severe trauma and fear, and urged authorities to ensure comprehensive care and medical examination at a modern One-Stop Crisis Centre (OCC) under the supervision of a medical board.

They stressed that all investigative and medical procedures must be carried out with the survivor's informed consent, in a manner that upholds her dignity and ensures confidentiality, protection, and psychological support.

The groups also demanded an end to political blame games surrounding the case and called for swift punishment of the perpetrator.

In the afternoon, a human chain was formed under the banner of the Social Resistance Committee outside the Cumilla Press Club, protesting the rape and abuse of the minority woman.

Following the demonstration, representatives from women's rights organisations, lawyers from Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) in Cumilla, and staff from BRAC met with the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police.

They handed over a copy of a previously submitted memorandum addressed to the inspector general of police (IGP), demanding a fair and impartial investigation to ensure justice.

At the protest, Advocate Maksuda Akhter, a Supreme Court lawyer and member of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, said, "The rape survivor, a minority woman, lives in constant fear within society. She has already been proven to be a victim of rape. She is a mother and the wife of a migrant worker. Her future remains uncertain, whether her marriage will survive or whether she herself will be able to endure."

"In such turmoil, she may express conflicting statements at different times, but that does not mean she was not raped. The incident of rape has been clearly established through the circulation of the video," she added.

Meanwhile, AKM Kamruzzaman, additional superintendent of police of Muradnagar Circle, told The Daily Star, "On Saturday, June 28, police presented the victim to a doctor at the One-Stop Crisis Centre of Cumilla Medical College Hospital, but the victim refused to undergo a medical examination."

Md Sadekur Rahman, inspector of Cumilla court, said a remand prayer against four accused has been scheduled for July 3.

He added that Fazor Ali, the main accused in the rape case, is currently undergoing treatment at Cumilla Medical College Hospital under jail custody.