Rape case after 72-hr severe obstacle to justice

Human rights activist Sultana Kamal has said that the court’s directives on not lodging a rape case if a rape survivor reports to a police station after 72 hours of the incident is an obstacle to ensuring justice for her. 

She advised women to lodge cases even if the time exceeded 72 hours. “We want people who were tortured in any way to get justice. When the justice system goes against the victims, it becomes frustrating,” she told Bangla Tribune after the Banani double rape case verdict on Thursday. 

The former caretaker government adviser also said that modern technology is advanced and hence it is not necessary to go for medical examinations within 72 hours of a rape incident. 

“There are DNA testing methods available too which can help the police or court find evidence of rape. 

“So, asking the police to not take a case after 72 hours is a questionable directive,” she added.

A Dhaka court on Thursday acquitted all five accused charged with the reported rape of two private university students at an upscale hotel in the capital’s Banani area in 2017.

Judge Begum Mosammat Kamrun Nahar of Dhaka’s Seventh Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal handed down the verdict in the presence of the accused in a jam-packed courtroom.

Ahmed Shafat, his friend Shadman Sakif, Nayeem Ashraf alias Halim, Shafat’s driver Billal and bodyguard Rahmat Ali were acquitted as the charges brought against them had not been proved, the court said.

After the verdict, they were seen cheering in joy. Shafat is the son of Dildar Hossain Selim, one of the owners of Apan Jewellers.

Nothing in the medical report indicated that the two had been raped, the judge said, criticizing the police for being “overzealous”. 

The judge also asked the police to refrain from receiving a case if a rape victim came to the police  station 72 hours after the incident. 

“Semen” cannot be traced after 72 hours," the judge said while pronouncing the verdict. 

The accused had consensual physical relationship with the women, the court observed, adding that the investigating officer of the case had pressed charges against the five accused despite the lack of evidence.

While reading the verdict, the judge said: “You are saying that this case is an important one but I don’t think so. To us [judiciary], every case is important. In this case, nothing was found in the medical report and the doctors could not submit any proof [in favor of rape].”

The court said that the victims in the case were not credible in their accusations.