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2 of the 4 Tanore rapists held on ministerial orders

Victim, her son in safe custody

ANWftRAll.RaJshaM
Police yesterday arrested two of the four BNP men accused of gangraping a woman 17 years ago in Tanore, while the victim, now34, has found safe custody with Bangladesh National Women Lawyers' Association (BNWLA).
Acting on a home ministry directive, police nabbed Yaad Ali and Omar Ali, both allegedly ruling BNP adherents, at their homes in the early hours yesterday, said Nurul Amin, officer-in-charge (OC) of Tanore Police Station (PS). A magistrate's court sent the two arrestees to jail later in theday.
The ministerial directive signed by Khairuzzaman, personal secretary to the state minister for home affairs, was faxed to the office of Rajshahi superintendent of police (SP), attached with a copy of The
Dally Star report dated December 13 that made the anomalies and injusticepublic.
The Daily Star report headlined 'Raped I7yr back, on the run for her life' described the plight of the gangrape victim, who was then on the run receiving threats to her life if she didnot drop her courtaction again st the men she accused of rape.
The men include a senior politician in the local area.
The threats came after the trial of her rape case was set to re-start after anine-yeargap.
Speaking from hiding, the woman told journalists that in April 1988, three men, Mofiz Uddin, the current Thnore upazila BNP vice president and Chanduria union parishad chairman, and his accomplices Omar Ali andYaadAli, bribed her uncle Sayed Ali Satari and
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kidnapped her from her house at Deotola village under Tanore upazila. She, an orphan, was 18 years old at the time. She said they took her to an unknown place and raped her and left unconscious in a field.
She said local people recovered her and took her for protection to Abdul Mozid Molla, the then Chanduria UP chairman, a BNP leader and a village doctor; but even Mozid, the trustee, raped her again. TOP ACCUSED REMAIN FREE OC Amin told The Daily Star police could not find Mofiz Uddin and Abdul Majid Molla.
However, local and police sources said. Mofiz and Majid were seen in public on Wednesday with Post and Telecommunications Minister Arninul Haque during his visit to Rajshahi.
SAFE CUSTODY
The local chapter of BNWLA took the victim and her eight-year-old son under safe custody yesterday.
BNWLA Rajshahi division chief Advocate Dil Sitara Begum Chuni told The Daily Star, after completing formalities, the victim and her son would be sent to BNWLA Dhaka Safe Home on Sunday.
"We are trying to have the trial of tlie case under a speedy trial tribunal,"sheadded.
The victim went into hiding a few weeks ago as her alleged rapists threatened her with death if she did not withdraw the case or settle the matter for money.
GASEPAPERS KEEP MISSING Meanwhile, the main documents of the case remain missing. Rajshahi court police and the local police concerned claimed they had failed to trace the papers.
The victim's lawyer blamed the officials at the judicial section under Rajshahi deputy commissioner to have intentionally misplaced the documents to save the rapists.
The documents were sent to the High Court when the accused challenged a special tribunal's order for further investigation into the case after the order had been executed and a supplementary charge-sheet was submitted against them.
THECASE&INVEST1GAT1ONS After her ordeal, her uncle Sayed lodged a case with Tanore PS accusing a man called Muhammad AU of her rape. Police then pressed charges against Muhammad.
When the woman was asked to give evidence at the special tribunal set up in Rajshahi to deal with cases Involving violence against woman, she told the judge that Muhammad had not raped her, as her uncle had alleged, but the four men.. ' - ।
As a result, in January 1989, the tribunal recorded a 'no-confidence' petition and ordered further investigation into the incident
In July, Thnore police in a supplementary charge-sheet pressed charges against the four BNP men.
The four accused persons then petitioned to the HC challenging the
Rajshahi Tribunal's order for a fresh investigation.
In August 1995, an HC bench endorsed the tribunal ruling and ordered that the trial of the case should continue.
MISTAKESI
The judicial section at the Rajshahi Collectorate, blamed for misplacing the original HC order in 1995, forwarded last Monday, by 'mistake', a copyoftheHCordertoamagistrate's court, instead of the additional sessions judge and special tribunal where the case was under trial.
The magistrate court has nothing to do with the case, which is already ready fortrialatthetribunal," said the victim's lawyer.
Shafiqul Islam, the official concerned at the judicial section, told The Daily Star that the copy of the HC order had been sent to the magistrate's court, as there was order for further investigation into the case.
The HC order dated August '95 that the Supreme Court registry office sent to the Rajshahi judicial section in October '95 has not reached its destination to date.
Waiting long nine years, the rape victim sought another copy of the HC order, which was sent on November 29 last and the local judicial section received it on December 1.
APPEAL FOR JUSTICE
Talking to The Daily Star yesterday the woman repeatedly appealed, "You please ensure me justice."
"They have destroyed my life. Even the UP chairman to whom I went for justice ruined me." she said, choked with tears.
zVccording to her, a youth of her village named Korban All married her a couple of years after the rape. "Seeing me in dis tress, he married me ashis second wife.”
But, facing objection from his first wife, her husband failed to keep her in his family. So, she started to beg and work as domestic help to earn a living.