The one member committee formed to investigate the missing of the legal documents had found those in the office of an additional judge's court. Additional District Magistrate Monir Hossain headed the committee.

"The case documents, in fact, were not missing. Rather, those could not be found immediately because of the court's going into vacation. The case was under trial at a judge's court," said ADM Monir Hossain.

As the judge's courts ended vacation yesterday, the case documents were sent to the court of First Class Magistrate Zebunnesa Karim following a High Court order for further investigation into the incident.

The magistrate's court would hear today the bail petitions of Yaad Ali and Omar Ali, two ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party workers who were arrested in connection with the rape.

The committee however will not look into why the HC order pertaining to the case took nine years to reach Rajshahi from Dhaka. "Sometimes it happens in our country. But now as we've got the High Court order at hand, we won't spend any time finding out the reasons for the delay," said a top official on condition of anonymity.

Four people including Tanore upazila BNP Vice President and Chanduria Union Parishad Chairman Mofiz Uddin, his associates Omar and Yaad and the then Soronjai UP chairman and BNP leader Mozid Mollah raped a 19-year-old woman in Tanore in April 1988.

Reportedly bribed by the rapists, victim's uncle late Sayed Ali Satari lodged a case with Tanore Police Station accusing one Muhammad Ali. Police too gave charge sheet accusing Ali of committing the rape. But later as the concerned tribunal summoned the victim to testify she contradicted the charge sheet and First Information Report. The tribunal then ordered further investigation. A supplementary charge sheet held the four BNP men guilty.

The rapists had challenged the tribunal order for further investigation in HC. In August 1995, the HC ruled in favour of further investigation, but the HC order went missing from judicial section under Rajshahi Collectorate delaying the legal proceedings for nine long years.

Another copy of the HC order reached Rajshahi on December 1 last year following the victim's petition.

Police nabbed Yaad Ali and Omar Ali, two of the four accused, following a home ministry directive on December 16 after The Daily Star published a report on the anomalies on December 13.