Bogra's Tufan, 12 others charged

Bogra police yesterday pressed charges against 13 people including Sramik League leader Tufan Sarkar, over the rape of a college student and the subsequent torture of the victim and her mother nearly three months ago.

Ten, including Tufan, were charged in the rape case while the same 10 along with three others were also charged with torturing the girl and her mother.

Inspector Abul Kalam Azad of Bogra Sadar Police Station, also the investigation officer of both cases, submitted the charge sheets to the court of judicial magistrate Mohammad Kamruzzaman at around 6:45pm, police said.

On July 17, Tufan Sarker, convener of Bogra unit of the ruling Awami League's worker front, abducted the girl from her home and raped her and then asked his party cadres and a woman councillor to make sure the crimes were covered up.

Later, they picked up the student and her mother, tortured them for four hours and then shaved their heads.

The incident led to a huge outcry in the country with a demand for ensuring justice for the victims and handing out exemplary punishment to the culprits.

The accused in the charge sheet of the rape case are Tufan, his wife Tasmin Rahman Asha, 20, her sister and municipal councillor Marjia Hasan Rumki, 35, their mother Lovely alias Rumi, Tufan's associates—Atikur Rahman Atik, 25, Munna, 24, Ali Azam Dipu, 25, Mehedi Hasan alias Rupom, 26, Samiul Haque alias Shimul, 25, and Emarat Alam Khan alias Jitu, 23.

Tufan's father-in-law Jamilur Rahman, 60, and barber Robidas alias Jotin, 25, who shaved the heads of the victim and her mother at Tufan's behest were earlier shown arrested in the rape case but the investigation officer dropped their names in the charge sheet.

Jamilur, Jotin and another local woman, Anjuara Begum, were also named in the torture case along with the 10 persons charged in the rape case.

All but Shimul and Anjuara are now behind bars. Among the accused, Munna, Atik and Jotin gave confessional statements before the magistrate.

In the charge sheet, the investigation officer mentioned that their probe findings, judicial statement and medical test report of the victim, confessions of the accused and circumstantial evidences proved the charges against the accused. 

Following the incident, the teenage girl and her mother were sent to a safe home in Rajshahi on security grounds.

The prime accused, Tufan, was sent to Kashimpur High Security Jail in Gazipur from Bogra after allegations of taking drugs inside Bogra jail arose.