Oxfam in Bangladesh has condemned, in the strongest possible terms, the heinous gang rape and murder on a moving bus of Zakia Sultana Rupa, a 27-year-old law student – echoing the horrific 2012 rape followed by murder of ‘Nirbhaya’ in India.
Five people have been arrested in this connection, including the bus driver, helper and supervisor – all staffers of inter-district bus service Chhowa Paribahan. Oxfam urged the government to take stern action against each individual immediately to ensure justice.
The victim was a resident of Sirajganj’s Tarash. She was travelling from Bogra to Mymensingh after appearing in the government’s teachers registration test. Although a colleague boarded the bus with her, he got off in Tangail.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Habib, Gendu, Shamim, Akram, and Jahangir.
Oxfam in Bangladesh’s Gender Justice Program Manager Nazmun Nahar said they demand fast and exemplary punishment of the accused.
“We call upon all like-minded organizations, allies, supporters and other sections of the society to raise their voice against all sorts of violence against women and girls and discrimination,” Nahar was quoted as saying in a statement UNB received on Wednesday.
While the rapists successfully channeled the monstrosity of their Indian counterparts in the Nirbhaya case, it remains to be seen whether the tragic case of Rupa touches the same kind of raw nerve in society here that Nirbhaya’s fate did in India – where the trials of the five accused were fast-tracked, and all but one of them received the death penalty.
She urged the government to take adequate effective measures ensuring the rights of women and girls to move freely and safely as equal citizens in Bangladesh.
