Mohammadpur rape case: SSMCH still processing evidence

The forensics department of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital is still processing evidence from victim in the Mohammadpur rape case.

Following a primary inspection, doctors suspect that one of the causes of the female private university student’s death could be food or alcohol poisoning. Signs of intercourse are yet to be confirmed. Although it is difficult to prove signs of intercourse, it’s a legal vestige from the colonial era that was rife with misogynistic understanding of the female anatomy.  

“We have sent vaginal and anal swabs to the lab for DNA profiling and microscopic examination. We will be able to reveal the details when the report is submitted,” said Selim Reza, head of the department.

When asked whether someone with food or alcohol poisoning could give consent, Selim Reza said: “If someone is in an intoxicated condition, there is no consent. This is also rape. However, we did not find any evidence that shows she was forced.”    

The student’s father filed a case with Mohammadpur police station the day she died, saying that her friends had forcibly gotten her intoxicated at a restaurant in Uttara on Friday.

She was taken to his house in Mohammadpur and raped afterward, said the father in the case statement, adding that his daughter was later admitted to the ICU of a Dhanmondi hospital where she died while undergoing treatment.

Police on Sunday arrested the accused rapist and two others. A Dhaka court on Monday placed two of them on a five-day remand each over the rape charges pressed by the victim's father. 

Earlier in the day, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Tejgaon Division DC Harun-or-Rashid told the media the victim and four of her friends – one female and three males– went to an Uttara restaurant and drank liquor.

At one point, one of the female members of the group fell sick and went back home, said the DC quoting the case dockets.

“Later, the victim along with her three male friends went to another friend’s home in Mohammadpur. There, the university girl was raped by her former lover,” he added.

“The victim, after falling seriously ill, was admitted to a private hospital in Dhanmondi and then was shifted to another hospital as her condition worsened.”

DC Rashid said: “It is to be noted that one of the male members of this group died at a Dhaka hospital due to excessive drinking on Saturday, following Friday’s meet.

“We are looking into the matter very seriously. Arrests will be made if others are found to be involved,” he said.