BGB sues BLAST employee for ‘defamation’

The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Tuesday filed a defamation case of Tk 100 crore against a female employee of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST).

In the case, the woman was accused of "premeditated propagation of false allegations such as that of gang-rape" against some BGB personnel.

Nayeb Subedar Mohammad Ali Molla, in-charge of Damdamia check post of BGB Battalion-2 on Cox's Bazar-Teknaf highway, filed the case with the court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Tamanna Farah in Cox's Bazar.

The BLAST employee is the lone accused in the case.  Mohammad Ali, in the case statement, said that the woman's "false allegation" has severely tarnished the image of a force like the BGB.

On October 13, BLAST in a press statement demanded justice for its female employee alleging she was a victim of sexual violence at a checkpoint on the Teknaf-Cox's Bazar road. It also demanded that the government ensure her safety.

According to the plaintiff's lawyers Sazzadul Karim and Zia Uddin Ahmed, the accused on October 8 was heading for Teknaf from Hnila on a CNG-run auto-rickshaw.

"On-duty BGB men in Damdamia stopped the auto-rickshaw for regular checking, but the accused would not comply. Female BGB personnel later made her disembark the vehicle and she was searched.

"She later raised the allegation of 'gang-rape' against male BGB members of the check post and went to Teknaf Police Station to file a rape case. A medical board of Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital examined her but did not find any evidence of rape."

In another press statement, BLAST, however, pointed out that their employee had not alleged rape. "We have earlier been informed of the allegations of sexual abuse, not rape, at the check post and have raised our concerns about the need to inquire into such allegations.

"We have not received any allegations from any staffer regarding 'rape' or 'gang rape' against BGB members and nor, to our knowledge, have such allegations been made to the police or any hospital. We are concerned that press reports included inaccurate statements about the allegations."

BLAST expressed alarm at the defamation case filed against its employee.

"A woman who raises concerns about safety and abuse should not have to face her character being questioned, nor should she be intimidated by allegations of criminal defamation against her. Reporting rates in cases of violence against women are already low in our country and using the law this way will only serve to intimidate and inhibit victims from raising any concern," said the organisation.