Police in Bangladesh are facing criticism following reports that a rape victim was forced to marry one of her accused rapists in a police station.
The victim, a mother-of-three, had accused five men of keeping her in a room and sexually assaulting her multiple times between August 29 and August 31 in the district of Pabna in northern Bangladesh.
Following the incident, officials informed media that two policemen have been disciplined.
The brother of the victim told media in Bangladesh that officers at the police station where his sister had gone to report the incident, had forced her to sign documents divorcing her husband and marrying her with one of the main suspects.
The marriage between the woman and the suspect took place when the woman had gone to the police station to file a complaint.
Police officials said on Thursday that the marriage seemed part of an attempt to prevent the suspects from being prosecuted.
The deputy police chief of Pabna, Mohammad Ibne Mizan, said that sub-inspector Ekramul Haq had been suspended for helping one of the victim’s suspected rapists marry her. Moreover, he stated that the man the victim had married was the main accused.
He further apprised media that police had withdrawn the officer-in-charge of Pabna Sadar police station from his duty as he allowed the marriage to occur in the police station compound.
Ibne Mizan also said that four people involved in the assault, including three suspected rapists, had been arrested.
Media reported that one of the accused is a low-ranking official of the ruling Awami League.
Rights groups in Bangladesh have blamed the country’s weak criminal justice system, with a very low conviction rate, for the rise in gang rapes in the country.
The victim, a mother-of-three, had accused five men of keeping her in a room and sexually assaulting her multiple times between August 29 and August 31 in the district of Pabna in northern Bangladesh.
Following the incident, officials informed media that two policemen have been disciplined.
The brother of the victim told media in Bangladesh that officers at the police station where his sister had gone to report the incident, had forced her to sign documents divorcing her husband and marrying her with one of the main suspects.
The marriage between the woman and the suspect took place when the woman had gone to the police station to file a complaint.
Police officials said on Thursday that the marriage seemed part of an attempt to prevent the suspects from being prosecuted.
The deputy police chief of Pabna, Mohammad Ibne Mizan, said that sub-inspector Ekramul Haq had been suspended for helping one of the victim’s suspected rapists marry her. Moreover, he stated that the man the victim had married was the main accused.
He further apprised media that police had withdrawn the officer-in-charge of Pabna Sadar police station from his duty as he allowed the marriage to occur in the police station compound.
Ibne Mizan also said that four people involved in the assault, including three suspected rapists, had been arrested.
Media reported that one of the accused is a low-ranking official of the ruling Awami League.
Rights groups in Bangladesh have blamed the country’s weak criminal justice system, with a very low conviction rate, for the rise in gang rapes in the country.