Four police personnel have been withdrawn from duty and attached to the Pakshi Railway Police Lines following allegations of extortion and the rape of a 44-year-old passenger onboard the Kurigram Express.
Dulal Uddin, officer-in-charge (OC) of Santahar Railway Police Station, confirmed the development on Wednesday afternoon and said that a departmental probe is underway to determine further course of action against the police members.
The incident took place on Monday morning while the train was crossing the Natore area, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Santahar Railway Police.
According to police and case details, the victim, hailing from Sirajganj, was travelling from Dhaka on the Kurigram Express.
She alleged that during the journey, two on-duty police members escorted her to the train’s canteen under the pretext of conducting a search.
They then allegedly threatened her, falsely accusing her of possessing Yaba tablets, and extorted Tk10,000 from her.
The complainant further stated that she was subsequently raped inside the canteen by the train’s canteen worker, Abu Bakkar Siddique, and a few others.
Hearing her screams, fellow passengers rushed to her rescue, caught Abu Bakkar, and handed him over to the Santahar Railway Police.
Siddique, son of the late Masud Rana of Abdulpur village in Lalpur Upazila of Natore, was later produced before a court, which ordered him to be sent to prison.
The victim has filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act as the plaintiff.
Conflicting statements under probe
The investigation is currently addressing conflicting narratives regarding the incident.
While the arrested canteen boy Abu Bakkar Siddique gave a confessional statement in court on Tuesday, admitting to raping the woman alone, the police are investigating the victim’s claim that multiple people were involved in the assault.
Furthermore, there are contradictory statements about how the woman ended up in the canteen.
While Abu Bakkar Siddique claimed in his statement that the victim went to the canteen of her own accord, the victim maintained that the police personnel escorted her there for a search.
OC Dulal Uddin emphasised that the allegations against the police personnel are being thoroughly investigated.
“The woman has accused two police members of intimidating her during a search, claiming she possessed Yaba, to extort Tk 10,000 from her,” the OC said on Tuesday.
“We are investigating whether the allegation is true or if the situation has been presented in another way”
