Assault on Noakhali woman: Action against negligent officials recommended
The High Court says the prime accused in the case, Delwar, could become that much powerful because of political backings
The High Court-formed probe body has reported that the public officials concerned, including the circle assistant superintendent of police and the officer-in-charge of the local police station, cannot avoid responsibility over assaulting a woman stripping her naked in Noakhali's Begumganj
According to the inquiry report, the victim's husband was also involved in the attempt to rape incident.
Moreover, the report recommended action against the circle assistant superintendent of police (ASP), officer-in-charge (OC) of the local police station, local union parishad chairman, member and chowkidar (village police) for their laxity and negligence.
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The inquiry committee report was presented before a High Court (HC) virtual bench comprising Justice Mojibur Rahman Mia and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim on Thursday.
On 5 October, the HC formed a three-member committee, headed by the additional deputy commissioner of Noakhali, to probe if the police administration had been negligent of their duties over the molestation of the housewife.
The probe report was submitted to Supreme Court Registrar General Office on 28 October, and Deputy Attorney General Nawroz Rasel Chowdhury presented it before the court on Thursday.
The court set 12 November for further hearing on the report.
"The three-member inquiry committee formed under the direction of the High Court has found the local administration negligent of their duties," the deputy attorney general later told the press.
Citing the report, he said the victim's husband was involved in the incident. He had no communication with his wife for the last 10-12 years, but contacted her 5-6 days before the incident, he added.
"The circle ASP, OC, local union parishad chairman, member and chowkidar did not perform their respective duties following the assault," said Rasel.
He said the court commented that the main accused Delwar could become that much powerful because of having political backings. The court also thanked the inquiry committee for the "nice report", he added.
The woman was stripped naked, tortured and filmed on 2 September this year at her residence at Ekhlaspur union in Begumganj, Noakhali. The matter came to light on 4 October after the video went viral on social media 32 days after the incident.
On 5 October, senior lawyer ZI Khan Panna drew attention of the court to the incident.
The HC ordered formation of the committee to look into the matter and also asked the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission chairman to remove the video from online.
