GANG RAPE OF PURNIMA RANI: Human chain demands release of convicted, retrial of case

Selim Reza from Sirajganj :

A human chain was formed at Thana intersection in Ullapara upazila headquarters of Sirajganj district on Saturday demanding release of 11 accused, who were convicted and sentenced to life term imprisonment in a case filed for raping of Purnima Rani Shil.
The demonstrators also demanded further investigation into the incident and retrial of the case for the sake of establishing fair justice.
Several hundreds of people from all walks of life including students, teachers, politicians and socio-cultural personalities took part in the event and placed their demand with the hope of getting fair and impartial justice over the issue.
Citing the memories of October 8, 2001 incident, speakers at the demonstration said that, “It was a dispute between two neighbors over a trifling matter, which was transformed into a gang rape case giving political colours.
They alleged that, Purnima’s father Anil Shil had initially filed a general diary (GD) with Ullapara police station, where the matter of rape was not mentioned. The rape allegations came to light just after some Awami League leaders visited Purnima at the hospital on October 11.
The speakers cited the CID report and said that, “On October 14, it was reported from a medical test that, the sign of sexual intercourse had been found, in where the time of the intercourse was revealed about two or three days before the incident. On the other hand, the date of the incident was October 8.”
Then, the demonstrators raised the question -when exactly and by whom was Purnima raped?
Regarding the verdict in this case, speakers also said that, the sentence was announced based on the statement of Purnima Rani Shil under Section 22 and the testimony of Sadhan Master, who was only one witness out of the seven witnesses. However, Sadhan Master himself confessed that he was taken from his house late at night and forced to give false statement on the face of torture.
Although, the accused were granted bail after an appeal to the High Court in 2012, just seven days later, Chamber Court Judge Shamsuddin Manik, being instigated by the then Attorney General, cancelled the bail and upheld the previous verdict. Strongly condemning the incident, the speakers also said that, it is clear evidence of political influence in the judicial system.
The participants in the human chain also placed 7-point demands, which have been given below:
1. A full and impartial reinvestigation should be conducted.
2. Demand the unconditional release of 11 innocent prisoners, who have been in prison for 17 years.
3. The real culprits must be found and punished.
4. False witnesses including judges who violated the justice system must be brought to justice.
5. The loss of 17 years from the lives of 11 innocent people must be compensated.
6. Purnima Rani Shil and her family should be brought to justice.
7. All the privileges given to Purnima Rani Shil by the fascist Awami League government must be canceled.
The speakers further said that, this case is not just an isolated incident, but rather a blatant example of political interference in the justice system and punishment of the innocent by the fascist Awami League government.
They strongly demanded a re-evaluation of the case as soon as possible in the interest of justice.
Civil society members from Sirajganj district town as well as the leaders of various social and human rights organizations expressed their solidarity with the demands and pledged to continue the agitation until meet their demands in a bid to establish fair justice along with release of the 11 innocent people.