The Manikganj District Women and Children’s Repression Prevention Tribunal sentenced a young man, found guilty of rape, to life imprisonment and a fine of 50 thousand taka. This created a sense of relief as, in most cases, rapists in our country get away scot-free.
However, the trial took an inordinately long time which is hardly acceptable. According to a Prothom Alo report, the young man, Saidur Rahman, raped a college girl on 9 March 2007 in Shibaloy, Manikaganj. The victim herself filed charges against the rapist at the police station. On 7 June that year, the investigating officer submitted a charge sheet against Saidur. Yet the verdict was finally passed only this Monday. It took over 11 years for the sentence to be passed. Yet the law maintains that such cases must be completed within six months. Why is the trial dragged out for so long?
Every year a large numbers of women and children are victims of rape in Bangladesh. A large number of cases are filed too, but the percentage of those actually receiving punishment is extremely low.
Under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Sectoral Programme, in 2001 the government started up one-stop crisis centres in Rajshahi, Chittagong, Sylhet, Barisal, Khulna, Rangpur and Faridpur districts. A total of 4541 rape cases were filed till 2017 from these centres. Of these, 1229 were settled, among which only 60 persons were punished. Meanwhile, 3312 cases remain pending. This is a matter of concern.
Organisations working on women and children’s rights say that these cases are delayed because the police and other relevant government officials do not carry out their responsibilities properly and the criminals are let off the hook. From collecting evidence in rape cases to the entire investigation process, the police display inefficiency, insincerity and a propensity towards corruption. They also take the political affiliation of the rapist into consideration, yield to intervention from powerful quarters and have an overall misogynist attitude. That is the major reason why the cases cannot be proven in court and the rapist is gets away unpunished.
This cannot continue in this manner. Rape is a heinous crime. No one should get away with this crime. We must halt this culture of impunity. The government must pay attention here. They must dispel the weaknesses and loopholes in the law when it comes to rape. More tribunals must be set up and more judges appointed to ensure speedy trial of these cases. Each and every rapist must be tried and punished.