Police officer apologises after behaving discourteously with DU female student

A policeman has apologised in the face of protests  for his objectionable treatment of a female student of Dhaka University (DU) at the end of the Pahela Baishakh celebrations on the campus.

DU Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 15 April 2016, 06:33 AM
Updated : 15 April 2016, 06:36 AM

The incident occurred at the Suhrawardy Udyan’s gate near the TSC intersection around 7pm on Thursday.
 
Both witnesses and police identified the offender as Constable Ruhul Amin.
 
Shahbagh police OC Abu Bakar Siddique told bdnews24.com that the incident was the result of a misunderstanding. “The policeman was on duty. He, however, admitted his fault and apologised.”
 
The victim, Habiba Jannat, is a Master’s student of statistics and also the vice president of the leftist Bangladesh Chhatra Federation’s DU unit.
 
The DU unit’s General Secretary Tahsin Mahmud said he and several others including Jannat were standing at the Udyan’s gate when the constable shoved her away saying the ‘IGP’s car is coming’.
 

“The police officer started hurling abuses at her when Jannat protested his action,” Mahmud told bdnews24.com.
Jannat later submitted a written complaint to the university proctor, leading to a sit-in before police officials, including DMP Joint Commissioner Krishna Pada Roy, who was at the proctor’s office.
Constable Amin apologised in the presence of the Proctor M Amzad Ali, senior police officers and students, Mahmud said.
Ali later told bdnews24.com, “It was a misunderstanding between the students and police. The Chhatra Federation activists and police have reached an understanding at the meeting.”

Police had beefed up the security in and around DU in the backdrop of last year’s sexual assault on women near the Suhrawardy Udyan’s gate during the Bangla New Year celebrations.
 
Apart from restrictions on wearing masks during the traditional ‘Mangal Shobhajatra’ procession, the authorities had banned outdoor programmes after 5pm on Thursday.
 
The Udyan’s gate was closed a little before the evening, but there was no bar on roaming the streets or gatherings on the campus.
 
Activists of student organisations including the DU unit of Bangladesh Chhatra Union had patrolled the campus from the morning to late evening on Thursday to prevent any unseemly incident.
 
Amidst all that, Habiba Jannat faced the ill-mannered behaviour of Constable Amin, an incident police dubbed as no more serious than a misunderstanding.