We are investigating reports of sexual assault on girl in Bangla Motor: Home minister

Law enforcers are investigating allegations of sexual assaults on women at several locations in Dhaka, including on a girl at Bangla Motor, by men heading to Wednesday’s Awami League rally, the home minister says.

Speaking to the media in Dhaka on Thursday amid an outcry on the social media over a Facebook post on the Bangla Motor incident by the alleged victim, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said they have obtained a video footage of the incident.

“Some unruly young men sexually assaulted a college girl at Bangla Motor. We are trying to identify them from the video footage,” the minister said.

“We will take proper steps. You’ll also know who were involved in it,” he said.

“The perpetrators will be brought to justice” the minister said.

The ruling party held a public rally over the historic March 7 on Wednesday at the Suhrawardy Udyan, attended by Prime Minister and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina.

Thousands of activists from all across the capital and suburbs headed for the venue in the early hours of the day, marching on the streets in processions.

A post by a teenage girl, who said she was sexually assaulted in the city’s Bangla Motor area by men heading to the rally, went viral on Facebook later in the day, triggering a firestorm.

Several other women reported similar incidents and some of them took to the social media to share their experiences of harassment.

The home minister termed such incidents ‘unfortunate’.

The girl, who alleged the molestation in Bangla Motor, did not agree to speak to the media, a person close to her told bdnews24.com.

She said in another post later on Wednesday she had changed the post’s view option to ‘Only Me’ from ‘Public’ after noticing that it was ‘being used for political instigation’.

In the first post, she alleged a police officer rescued and put her on a bus after 15 to 20 young men had molested her.

“I won’t live in the country where people molest girls, raising the Joy Bangla slogan,” she wrote.

bdnews24.com contacted a number of police officers on Wednesday night but no one could confirm the incident.

Police Inspector Badiuzzaman at the Public Order Management control room said he had spoken to around 40 officials posted at Bangla Motor and adjacent areas, but no one was aware of the incident.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Maruf Hossain Sarder and Traffic Sergeant Morshedul Alam at Bangla Motor said they had also talked to the policemen posted in the area at the time, but no one could say who had helped the girl.

The home minister said police officers went to the girl’s house on Wednesday night and spoke to her.

When contacted, DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Miah declined to comment on the issue over telephone.

DC Maruf said he does not have any video footage of the incident and did not know whether any other law-enforcing agency had it.

Rapid Action Battalion spokesperson Mufti Mahmud Khan said he had no knowledge of the video footage.