An employee of a courier company booth in the city’s Uttara area has been accused of eve-teasing and harassing women. After two individuals protested the harassment, the man and several of his associates physically assaulted them later the same day.
A written complaint has been filed with the Uttara West Police Station in this regard.
According to the complaint, Ram Krishna Roy and his colleague Md Hasim Uddin went to have tea around 7:30pm on Sunday at Road 34 in Uttara’s Sector 7.
At that time, the booth employee Rahman and several of his companions attacked them with iron rods and locally made weapons, leaving both men injured. They were later treated at Kuwait Maitree Hospital.
Ram Krishna Roy stated that the incident originated on 21 October. On that day, the managing director of their company and her daughter were waiting in front of the lift on the 5th floor of Building number 5, in Sonargaon Janapath, Uttara.
Rahman, a courier employee also in the lift, made indecent gestures and behaved inappropriately towards them. Although the matter was reported to the building authorities and the company’s booth manager, no action was taken against the accused.
The complaint further states that on Sunday noon, the same two women – who were previously subjected to eve-teasing – encountered Rahman again inside the lift of the same building. Feeling uncomfortable, they asked him to get off.
They questioned why Rahman, whose booth is on the ground floor, had gone to the basement and was going up again instead of getting off. The courier employee reportedly became agitated and started verbally abusing them.
CCTV footage obtained by TIMES of Bangladesh shows Rahman entering the lift from the ground floor – where the courier booth is located – and not getting off when it stopped at the basement.
Rahman is seen attempting to stay inside the lift upon seeing the women, while the women repeatedly gesture for him to leave. At one stage, the employee appears visibly agitated.
Ram Krishna then arrived and pulled Rahman out of the lift, leading to a scuffle between the two sides. Rahman then threatened to “see them later.”
Abdul Majid, an official of the building association, said he had received the eve-teasing complaint last Thursday, but did not receive any cooperation from the courier company regarding the matter.
Following Sunday’s incident, several officials from the courier company head office reportedly came to meet Abdul Majid to settle the issue.
However, as the victims refused to compromise, company representatives threatened to bring around 3,000 employees to lay siege to the building, according to two eyewitnesses.
A few hours later, in the evening, Rahman and his associates attacked Ram Krishna and Hasim on Road 34. The victims said they have been feeling unsafe since the incident and fear further attacks, according to the complaint.
Uttara West Police Station’s officer-in-charge (investigation) confirmed receiving the complaint and said necessary legal action is being taken against the accused.
No disciplinary measures taken
Complaints against the staff were submitted three days earlier, but no disciplinary measures was taken against the accused employee.
Instead, a man identifying himself as an official of the company pressured the complainants to settle the matter privately. According to the complainants, a person named Ashiq introduced himself as a company official and insisted on a “compromise.”
He threatened them by saying, “We do more than just work here, and if needed, we will create an incident with 3,000 employees.”
When contacted for a response, the company’s Uttara manager Naeem refused to make any comment on the matter. Ashiq also declined to answer questions regarding the threats and told the reporter, “Write whatever you want.”
