Comilla SI withdrawn after video demanding bribe goes viral

A Comilla sub-inspector (SI) has been withdrawn after a video of him demanding Tk20,000 in bribe from the mother of a rape attempt survivor went viral on social media.

The policeman in question, SI Omar Faruq of Debidwar police station, has been withdrawn to the Comilla Police Lines.

Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, Mohammad Amirullah, assistant superintendent of police (Debidwar-Brahmanpara circle) of Comilla, however claimed that the withdrawal was part of a "routine reshuffle."

According to police and local sources, a case was filed under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act on June 6, 2021, against one Hasan, a resident of Debidwar, who attempted to rape the 14-year-old survivor.

Following the filing of the case, on August 20 Hasan and his elder brother Kawsar Ahmed, along with their other family members, beat up the survivor and her family for refusing to withdraw the case.

A video of this incident also went viral on social media. 

Also Read - Engineer transferred for taking bribes

Then on August 26, the survivor's father filed another case against Hasan, Kawsar, their father Nurul Islam, and five others over the attack on his family.

In the bribe-related video that went viral, the survivor's mother was heard telling the SI: “We were assaulted by the accused multiple times and they demanded that we withdraw the rape case.”

"We now fear for our lives. Either arrest the culprits or transfer the case to someone else. Whenever we come you only ask for money."

The survivor's family accused the Debidwar police station SI, who was assigned to investigate both the cases, of taking bribes from them on several occasions.

So far, the law enforcers have arrested four people involved in the two incidents.

However, Hasan and Kawsar are still on the run.