4 police officials withdrawn over woman's reported rape on Kurigram Express

Four police officers who were on duty on the intercity Kurigram Express, travelling from Dhaka to Kurigram, have been withdrawn following allegations that a female passenger was raped inside the train’s canteen.

They have been attached to the Pakshi Railway Police Lines. Railway police said further action would be taken after a detailed investigation into the allegations.

Santahar Railway Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Dulal Uddin confirmed the matter on Wednesday (September 2) afternoon.

He said the four police personnel who were on duty aboard the Kurigram Express at the time of the incident had been withdrawn and attached to the police lines. An investigation into the allegations against them is under way, he added.

The incident allegedly took place on the moving Kurigram Express in the Natore area on the morning of August 30.

According to the complaint, the 44-year-old woman was taken to the train’s canteen, where she was allegedly raped.

At one point, other passengers heard her screams, came to her aid and rescued her. They also detained the canteen worker, Abu Bakkar Siddiq, and handed him over to railway police. He was later sent to jail through a court order.

The victim is a resident of Sirajganj and had been travelling from Dhaka to Kurigram on the Kurigram Express.

She filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, naming Abu Bakkar Siddiq and several others as accused. The woman has also made serious allegations against two police personnel.

According to the case statement, the two police officers on duty allegedly took the woman to the canteen on the pretext of searching her. They allegedly accused her of carrying yaba and took Tk10,000 from her.

The victim further alleged that the canteen worker subsequently raped her. Police, however, said the allegations would be verified through investigation.

Meanwhile, a three-member committee has been formed to investigate the incident. The committee is headed by Mohammad Mehedi Hasan, superintendent of Pakshi Railway Police.

Alongside the withdrawal of the four police personnel who were on duty at the time, the investigation into the case filed against canteen worker Abu Bakkar Siddiq is also under way.