Protest to go on till culprits' punishment

Freedom fighter and cultural personality Nasiruddin Yusuf Bachchu yesterday said the government had failed to arrest the Pahela Baishakh molesters though the people hoped it would make all-out efforts to bring the culprits to book.

Like the murderers of Dhaka University professor Humayun Azad and writer-blogger Avijit Roy, the molesters are not arrested yet, he told a sit-in of Sammilito Sangskritik Jote at Suhrawardy Udyan near TSC.

The former president of the Jote said the photos of the attackers should be published in all the print and electronic media and publicised through posters so that they could be identified and arrested easily.

Nasiruddin Yusuf also said the protest would go on till prosecution of the perpetrators.

Criticising police, President of Sammilito Sangskritik Jote Golam Kuddus said they always spoke of taking multitiered security measures, which had now become a joke.

He said a group always tried to harass women in traditional cultural festivities. "It's very embarrassing for us that those culprits are not punished."

Prof Md Samad, president of Jatiya Kabita Parishad, sees a lack of sincerity of the government and police in this regard.

Some 30 to 40 youths assaulted and sexually harassed around 20 females for about an hour at the Suhrawardy Udyan gate near TSC on April 14 when Pahela Baishakh was being celebrated.

CCTV cameras captured the videos of the assaults but police are yet to identify any molester.