Rangpur cop closed for not cooperating with rape victim’s family

A police official was closed yesterday for letting a rape-accused walk free and for refusing to file a complaint from the victim’s family in Rangpur’s Kaunia upazila.

Senior officials at Rangpur Metropolitan Police (RMP) closed Nazmul Quader, officer-in-charge of Haragach Police Station last night, our Rangpur correspondent reports quoting Altaf Hossain, assistant commissioner (media) of the department.

The family of the girl who was raped by her teacher on Saturday (February 1) tried to file a complaint that night but the police official refused, the family members claimed.

However, the rape accused Sohel Rana (27), a part-time teacher of a high school in Kaunia upazila, was arrested this morning and sent to Rangpur jail as per the order of a local court, said Faruk Hossain, assistant commissioner of Rangpur Metropolitan Police (Mahiganj zone).

THE INCIDENT

On Saturday afternoon, the girl went for tuition class taught by Sohel Rana. But he took her to an isolated place, raped her and then fled.

She later returned home and informed her parents who then rushed to Haragach Police Station to file a case but the police official refused, claimed family members.

Meanwhile that night, police managed to detain Rana around 9:00pm but Haragach Union Chairman Rakibul Hasan and Councillor Mahbubur Rahman showed up at the police station and started arguing in favour of Rana. The argument continued till 2:30am of Sunday (February 2) until finally both left the police station taking Rana along with them.

Later, they arranged a meeting at the union council complex and tried to put pressure on the victim’s family to settle the matter but their attempt failed after local media showed up. Both the chair and the councillor fled the spot when they noticed the girl’s family talking to journalists. The chairman even apologised later when our correspondent reached out to him about the matter.

Finally, on Monday, a case was filed with Haragach Police Station. OC Nazmul, meanwhile in his defence said he thought the place of the crime fell under the jurisdiction of Kaunia Police Station and not under Haragach.

But senior officials of RMP have dismissed any such claims.