The Rajshahi University students on Thursday staged demonstration on the campus protesting against the sexual harassment on their fellow student in a teacher’s house on early Wednesday.
According to campus sources, over five hundred students of the university brought a protest procession on campus at 11:00 am.
Later, they took position in front of Bangamata Sheikh Bangamata Fazilatunnesa Hall of the university where they raised six-point demands including exemplary punishment of the person who abused their fellow.
Their other demands are to relieve Bangamata Sheikh Bangamata Fazilatunnesa Hall provost from her duty, taking charge of the case filed by the victim student, ensuring that there will be no pressure either on the victim student or on her family member to withdrew the case, ensuring proper security of female students on campus, and setting up sexual harassment cell at every single department of the university.
Professor Bithika Banik must have been relieved from his duty of Bangamata Sheikh Bangamata Fazilatunnesa Hall provost as she could not provide security to a single student, said the students.
The students also postponed their demonstration for Sunday after RU vice chancellor Professor M Abdus Sobhan sought two days to meet their demands.
Noted, on early Wednesday, a university first year student became the victim of sexually abused in the house of Professor Bithika Banik’s house where the student went to tutoring.
According to the case statement, she alleged that she was used to teach the daughters of RU Sanskrit Department Professor Bithika Banik. On Tuesday evening, he went for tuition like the other days, but could not manage to return her residential hall at that night becauseof the heavy rain, and the insistence of Professor Bithika Banik to stay for the night.
At midnight, RU Bangamata Fazilatunnesa Hall provost and also Professor of Sanskrit department Bithik Banika where the student was used to reside, left her house, situated outside of RU campus, for the hall where a student attempted to commit suicide at 1:30 am, leaving her two daughters, the female student, and his younger brother Shaymol Banik, who is used to live the life of a monk, in the house.
Around 02:30 am, she felt someone was touching her sensitive parts of the body and got aroused from sleep. At that time, she found Bithika Banik’s brother Shyamol Banik touched on her body who later embraced her forcibly and started molesting her, according to the case statement.
Shymol Banik left the room when the female student started shouting, and she awoke the whole night.
However, after the incident, she discussed the matter with the university proctor Professor Lutfor Rahman and later talked with her father who suggested her to complain by using 999.
Police, later, rescued her from the teacher’s house at 4:30 am and arrested Shyamol Banik, who claimed to police to have abused her in sleep.
The victim student lodged a case under Women and Child Repression Act against Shymol Banik with Matihar Police Station for abusing her.
Police already sent him to the jail after producing him before a Rajshahi court showing arrest in the case.
