Rape and sexual assault victims are being discouraged from seeking justice by police personnel at the police stations. They normally do not like to file a first information report (FIR) of a case from sexual assault victims. For this reason the trial process is painstakingly slow and the conviction rate surprisingly low, sources said.
Nusrat Jahan Rafi, 18, a candidate of the Alim examination from Sonagazi Islamia Fazil Madrasa, died on Wednesday night five days after she was set ablaze in Feni in an incident which provoked national outrage.
OC Moazzam Hossain, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Sonagazi Model Police Station in Feni, has been withdrawn over the arson attack on Tuesday.
A video, which became viral, shows the OC of Sonagazi Model Police Station terming the sexual assault on Nusrat as a drama. Nusrat Jahan Rafi, the victim of the arson attack, went to the police station with her family members when OC Moazzam asked her several irrelevant questions.
The video showed a visibly distressed Nusrat, who died of extensive burn injuries on Wednesday (April 10), being questioned, often rudely by OC Moazzam Hossain.
Experts say that recording her statement in a video is against the law and the family of the victim would be well within their rights to sue the OC under the Digital Security Act.
Eighteen-year-old Nusrat was set on fire by burqa-clad assailants on April 6 when she went to sit for her Alim exams at Sonagazi Islamia Fazil Degree Madrasa.
They allegedly lured her to the roof, poured kerosene on her and set her on fire for refusing to withdraw the sexual
assault charges against madrasa principal Siraj-ud-Daula.
Nusrat and her family said they had been being threatened after she had brought charges of sexual harassment against principal Siraj-ud-Daula
Another such case, which provoked national outrage was the rape and murder of Victoria College student Sohagi Jahan Tonu, had also made no headway in solving the mystery behind the case.
Investigation source told the Daily Observer that this case is likely to face delay in investigation as the FIR was not properly filed.
Some of the investigators, tasked with probing cases of sexual violence, lack experience and necessary skills. Also, many police stations do not assign female officers to handle such cases.
Several lawyers said that the police track record in dealing with child abuse cases is unimpressive.
These cases are creating a backlog and causing a delay in delivering justice in other cases. "People also misuse the law when procuring documents," a lawyer seeking anonymity told the daily Observer, "For example, the law requires the victim to get a certificate from a government hospital before filing cases alleging torture, but we have seen people illegally obtaining these certificates in exchange for money."
Usually, the tribunals do not ask to scrutinise the certificates before the cases are accepted and proceed to trial.
He pointed out that the law required that the lower court judges inform the Supreme Court and the public prosecutors inform the government from time to time about the progress of a case. "But that never happens," he added.
"As a result, the law which is meant to protect the victims is misused by many to harass their opponents."
