One year on, culprits still at large

A year has gone by but law enforcers could not even properly identify the people responsible for the sexual assault on women on Pahela Baishakh last year.

Three separate police bodies had been entrusted with the probe, but they came up with almost nothing.

All they could do is release a number of photos taken from CCTV footage.

The police had even given in and submitted a final report.

However, the arrest of a suspect, about nine months after the incident, prompted them to revive the case.

“We have identified a few people by scrutinising television [CCTV] footage, but their details could not be known,” said Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman Miah.

“The investigation is on,” he told reporters on Monday at the DMP Media Centre.

During the Pahela Baishakh celebrations last year, at least 20 women were assaulted over a period of more than an hour near the TSC at Dhaka University. The police initially denied the incident but had later admitted it amid massive public outcry.

The law enforcers were even accused of releasing a couple of offenders caught red-handed and handed over to them by the people on the spot.

A number of police personnel were standing nearby when the assaults occurred, but they allegedly did nothing.

The High Court eventually issued a suo moto rule and the probe began. A case was filed with Shahbagh police and was later shifted to the Detective Branch (DB).

The detectives submitted a final report in December last year. Eight months of probe failed to identify a single criminal. A month later, the detectives held suspect Kamal Hossain at Chawkbazar that prompted them to revive the case.

A Dhaka court later ordered the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to re-investigate the incident.

DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman said they were investigating the incident in light of the arrest. Kamal in primary interrogation said he had gone to the TSC area alone that day, police claimed.

Another Pahela Baishakh, the biggest secular festival of the nation, is a day away and the police are now more concerned about making sure it does not happen again.

The DMP chief said they are cautious this year and had strengthened security measures in Suhrawardy Udyan, Ramna Parka and DU areas.

“We have set up watch towers, closed-circuit TV cameras and will deploy female law enforcers to assist women,” he said, adding that they have banned Vuvuzela during the Bangla New Year celebrations as they found the horns were “used in harassing women.”

On May 17, the police released photos of eight suspects.

The police also announced a bounty of Tk 1 lakh on each of the suspects.