Sexual harassment: Turag bus driver among 3 sent to jail

Staff Correspondent: A Dhaka court on Saturday sent three staff members of a Turag Paribahan bus to jail on completion of a three-day remand in a case filed with Gulshan Police Station over sexually harassing a student of Uttara University in a moving bus on her way to campus.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Muhammad Mazharul Islam passed the order after rejecting a bail petition filed by the lawyers of the accused.

The three accused who were sent to jail are bus driver Roman, 27, conductor Monir, 27, and helper Nayan, 29.

Earlier, Tapash Mandal Ojha, sub-inspector (SI) of the police station, also investigation officer of the case, produced the accused before the court on the completion of the three-day remand and asked the court to keep them detained in jail until the investigation ends.

Earlier on April 24, the court placed the three staff members of the Turag Paribahan bus on a three-day remand in a case filed over sexually harassing a student of Uttara University in a moving bus on her way to campus.

Metropolitan Magistrate Golam Nabi passed the order after Sub-inspector Tapos Kumar Ojha of Gulshan Police Station, also investigation officer of the case, produced them seeking a seven-day remand for interrogation.

On April 23, police arrested the accused at Sayedabad area in the capital and seized the bus.

Meanwhile, the victim student on April 24 gave a judicial statement before the court describing the incident.

According to the case statement, on April 21, the girl boarded the bus on Badda Link Road to go to the Uttara University. When all the other passengers got off at Natun Bazar stoppage, the helper, conductor and driver started to sexually assault the girl. At one stage, she managed to fend them off and jump off the bus.

Later, the victim’s husband on April 23 filed a case with Gulshan Police Station.


risingbd/Dhaka/April 28, 2018/Mamun Khan/AI