Rangpur Bureau

 Resident Ritu gave a chilling account of the physical, mental and sexual abuse of girls at the Integrated Rehabilitation Center for Girls run by the Social Services Department in Rangpur. A self-initiated case has been filed in this incident. The court has ordered the PBI to investigate the incident.

It is mentioned that the court has taken note of the incident of physical, mental and sexual abuse of girls at the Integrated Rehabilitation Center for Girls (Balika) run by the Social Services Department, published in various media.

 On June 29, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rashed Hossain, Judge of the Rangpur Metro Kotwali CR Amli Court, filed a case (Miss Case No. 2/25) on his own initiative. It was mentioned in it that on June 26, after reading and reviewing various news published in the media, it was seen that 4 teenage girls fled to save their lives due to physical, mental and sexual abuse at the Rangpur Integrated Child Rehabilitation (Girls) Center. 

The officials of the said rehabilitation center cut the victim's hair and pressured her to keep the center's irregularities secret. When the victim's mother went to see her, the rehabilitation center officials mistreated her. In addition, 4 teenage girls went missing on June 12, but 2 teenage girls have not been found yet. In such a situation, in the public interest and for the sake of justice, it has been felt by the court that a detailed investigation is necessary to uncover the true facts of the news published in the media, including the reason for the escape of 4 teenage girls from the Rangpur Integrated Child Rehabilitation Center. The court directed the Police Superintendent of Police of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to investigate the incident published in the newspaper

 The date for submitting the investigation report has been set for July 29.

Meanwhile, on Thursday afternoon, July 3, 21 days after her disappearance, Ritu, a resident of the Rangpur Integrated Child Rehabilitation Center (girl), appeared before lawyers and human rights activists in the court premises. Stating the reason for her escape due to fear of torture, she requested that she be kept in a safe place through the court so that she would not be subjected to torture again. Lawyers and human rights activists handed her over to the PBI, the agency investigating the incident, on Thursday evening. The PBI announced that Ritu would be kept in a safe place for questioning and questioning.

Earlier, Ritu Akhter told media persons, different men from outside come to this center every week in collusion with the officials of the Social Services Office and Rangpur Integrated Child Rehabilitation Center (Girls). Every week, new girls were raped by outsiders. On June 15, I was raped and on subsequent dates, other residents were raped.

 After learning about the matter, I escaped from the rehabilitation center along with Smriti, Kriti and Asha, seizing the opportunity, and everyone is staying in their own place. I am sheltering in the house of an aunt I know. Since the police are looking for me, I came to the court premises and sought the help of lawyers and human rights activists. They handed me over to the police to keep me in a safe place. I want justice for the perpetrators of the torture of the children of the center and all the officials of the center.

PBI Rangpur Police Inspector Mintu Chandra Banik told reporters that a case of a court miss has come to our hands. 4 victims were missing from the Rangpur Integrated Child Rehabilitation Center (Girls). There are allegations that they were physically, mentally and sexually abused. So far, 3 people have been rescued. We will interrogate the rescued resident Ritu Moni and will investigate and submit a report to the court.

Lawyer and human rights activist Jobaidul Islam said that children under the age of eighteen are kept in the Rangpur Integrated Child Rehabilitation Center, an institution under the Social Services Office. There has been physical, mental and sexual abuse of girls there for a long time. The senior officials of the Social Services Office have not taken any action in this regard. When the children who did not have relatives died due to torture, they were buried as unclaimed bodies. No autopsy was done. I think that since the court has taken cognizance of the matter and ordered the PBI to investigate. The truth will come out from this and no matter how much the officials are involved in the torture of girls, they will come under the law.

It is worth mentioning that four teenage girls named Nitu, Smriti, Kriti and Asha, who were residents of the Rangpur Integrated Child Rehabilitation Center in the city's Deodoba Dangirpr area, have been missing since the night of June 12. On June 15, family members rescued Smriti and Kriti from the city's zoo area and informed the police. Later, the police sent them back to the rehabilitation center through the court. In this incident, the family members refused to send the rescued teenagers to the rehabilitation center.

 As a reason for the objection, they told the media that they were worried about the torture of the girl at the rehabilitation center and the safety of her life. In this incident, the family members took Smriti into their custody through the court on June 25. Resident Smriti alleged that the people in charge of the rehabilitation center had mentally tortured her and cut her hair because she spoke to the media. Meanwhile, Asha, a resident of the rehabilitation center, is still missing.