Reclaim the night: Hundreds gather near Raju Memorial demanding justice for rape cases
They also expressed solidarity with the protests in India over the gruesome murder and gangrape of Dr Moumita Debnath at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata
Hundreds of women today (16 August) gathered near the Raju Memorial Sculpture at Dhaka University demanding fair investigation and justice in all rape cases, including that of Sohagi Jahan Tonu in Cumilla and Mosarrat Jahan Munia in Dhaka.
They also expressed solidarity with the protests in India over the gruesome murder and gangrape of Dr Moumita Debnath at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. Protests erupted across India as reports of the shocking brutality of the incident emerged. Doctors across India halted work at hospitals.
The 31-year-old trainee doctor was raped and murdered inside the medical college where she worked on Friday. Many have drawn parallels between this incident and the notorious gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New Delhi in 2012.
Students and teachers of Jahangirnagar University (JU) also demonstrated expressing solidarity with the ongoing protests in Kolkata. In a candlelight vigil and rally held on the premises of the university's Shaheed Minar under the banner of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement on Friday evening, participants demanded justice for the victim and condemned the heinous crime.
Meanwhile, speaking at Friday's programme at DU, protesters called on authorities to ensure justice for rape and murder cases that are yet to be solved, including those of Tonu and Munia.
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Tonu, 19, a second-year history student of Cumilla Victoria College and a member of Victoria College Theatre, was found dead at Cumilla Moynamati Cantonment on 20 March 2016 after she went out to tutor a student. More than a year later, in May 2017, the CID informed the media that the DNA test of samples taken from Tanu's clothes revealed the presence of semen from three men. Eight years on, any arrest is yet to be made in the case.
Protesters at Raju Memorial also demanded a fair investigation and justice in the case filed on charges of rape and murder of college student Mosarrat Jahan Munia in April 2021. She was found dead at a Gulshan flat. Her elder sister Nusrat Jahan Tania filed a case against Bashundhara Group managing director Sayem Sobhan Anvir, his father and the group chair, Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, and six others. Earlier this year, the Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-8 accepted a PBI probe report that cleared all the accused, including Anvir.
Protesters were seen holding banners with messages like "We want justice, Dhaka to Kolkata," "Yes Means Yes, No Means No," "Arrest Munia's Killer Anvir," "Rage Against Rape," and more.
" From Tonu in Bangladesh to Moumita in Kolkata, we want the safety of all girls. We have made a mass uprising successful. We can also ensure our own safety," one of the protesters said while addressing the gathering.
The protesters later brought out a torch procession from the sculpture area to DU vice chancellor's residence.
