PABIPRIB Representative:
In response to the increasing number of heinous crimes like rape in Bangladesh, students of Pabna University of Science and Technology (PUBST) strongly condemned and protested against it and demanded the punishment of rapists as soon as possible. During the sit-in, students said to everyone present, "The only punishment for rapists will be public death penalty" and requested the government to pass a law on public death penalty.
On Saturday (February 22), around 11:00 am, around a hundred students from different departments took up a position at the foot of the university's central Shaheed Minar, demanding punishment for the rapists.
At this time, the students narrated the stories of the mothers and sisters who were victims of rape in various times in February and strongly condemned and protested against it. The students questioned the law enforcement agencies of the country regarding the punishment of the rapists. The students alleged that the law enforcement agencies of the country are playing a silent role regarding the punishment of the rapists and all the students are suffering from insecurity.
Arjana Yasin Kamini, a student of the Department of Mathematics, said, "We are now suffering from insecurity due to the increase in heinous crimes like rape in Bangladesh. We are worried about whether we will return home safely from university. We demand from the country's administration that the maximum punishment for rapists should be death penalty and rapists should be brought to justice as soon as possible."
Sabbir Iftekhar Shakib, another student of the Mathematics Department, said, "This February, we have come to know about several rape incidents through the media. Sometimes my mother and sisters were raped by a bus robber, sometimes my younger sister was raped while picking flowers for Ekushey February. Sometimes my sister was raped while out for a walk. All around, we only hear about rape. But we do not know about any punishment for the rapists. We demand that the only punishment for the rapists should be public execution of the death penalty."
At that time, the students also said, "Although the country became independent in 24, we are still not getting full freedom. We will get freedom only when we can move safely." The students warned the country's administration, saying, "If you fail to give exemplary punishment to the rapists, then the people of the country will be forced to turn to the mob."
It is worth noting that this month, there have been many other rape incidents, including the rape of a three-month pregnant woman in Khulna, the gang rape of a woman on the Padma River, the rape of a young woman in Lalbagh in the capital, and the rape of a fourth-grade student while she was bringing flowers to pay tribute to the martyrs.
