Sexual harassment at DU
Tribunal orders further probe
A tribunal yesterday ordered further investigation into the allegation of sexual harassment of some women during Pahela Boishakh celebrations at Dhaka University last year. A judge of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal, Jayasree Samaddar, ordered the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to submit the report within March 23. Last December, the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) submitted its final report. It could not identify any possible suspect. After arresting a suspect, Md Kamal Hossain, from the citys Chawkbazar area recently, sub-inspector Dipak Kumar Ghosh, the investigating officer in the case, submitted his prayer in court on January 21 that the case be restored. Special public prosecutor Mahmuda Akter argued in court that since the DB has already submitted its final report, it would not be fair if it investigates the case again. For a fair investigation, she sought a court order that a different probe agency be given the charge of the investigation. After hearing the argument, the court passed the order yesterday. A gang of unruly youths had allegedly sexually harassed around five to seven women at the DUs TSC and Suhrawardy Uddyan gate areas on April 14 last year, when thousands of people had joined the Pahela Boishakh celebrations.
