Criminals abducted a rape victim yesterday when rights activists were waiting in front of the one-stop crisis centre of the Khulna Medical College Hospital to offer her legal support .

"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," said Mominul Islam, the Khulna divisional coordinator for the Bangladesh Human Rights Implementation Organisation.

The woman had told her doctor at the crisis centre that Dumuria upazila Chairman Ejaz Ahmed raped her on Saturday night. She had also said that she wanted to file a case with a court, not with any police station since she did not trust the police, the doctor told The Daily Star.

Suman Roy, resident medical officer at the KMCH and coordinator of the crisis centre, told this correspondent that the victim went to the hospital on Saturday night.

"We handed her over to her family around 4:30pm today [Sunday]. The victim's mother and one of her brothers came to take her. Before this, we contacted the police. We were told by the Dumuria Police Station that no case had been filed in this connection."

However, the officer-in-charge (investigation) of the Dumuria Police Station went to the crisis centre to record the victim's statement, he said.

He said they had collected evidence from the victim and that they would hand it over to a court if it wanted.

When this newspaper contacted OC (investigation) Mukta Roy Chowdhury, she said she had been ordered to go to the crisis centre and confirm that a woman from Dumuria was admitted there.

She said, "I collected the victim's details like name and address and when she was admitted there. Then I left and I know nothing else."

"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."

— Mominul Islam Rights activists

Deputy Commissioner (South) Tajul Islam of Khulna Metropolitan Police said they had heard about the kidnapping of the woman and that multiple police units were looking for the perpetrators and trying to rescue her.

Md Asif Iqbal, additional superintendent of Khulna police, said, "Neither the woman nor her family has come to us. If anyone files a complaint, we are obliged to give them legal assistance."

The victim's brother said Ejaz took his sister to his office around 8:00pm on Saturday and raped her there. Then he drove her away.

Mominul said, "If a victim does not get safety at a government hospital, then where will the people go?" An influential person will rape, and the victim is not allowed to go to the police station."