Protests over the murder of college girl Sohagi Jahan Tonu has spread across the country, demanding capital punishment against people involved in the rape-cum-killing incident.
The ongoing students' agitation is now being joined by various professional groups and civil societies in almost all places of the country even 10 days after the brutal killing incident.
Women rights activists and criminologists said growing incidents of repression in the society, coupled with denial of justice in most cases, have triggered such massive protests.
The murder of Tonu has agitated the general people about safety and security of their own daughters, sisters and wives in a society that lacks rule of law, they said.
According to the statistics of Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), a total of 105 girls and women were raped during last two months (January and February) in various parts of the country.
Of them, 20 victims were aged between 07 and 12 years and three died due to physical assaults while two others committed suicide after the rapes, the ASK data said.
A total of 123 incidents of rape registered by the ASK in the first three months (January, February and March) of 2015 indicate a substantial and horrific rise in the offence.
A second-year history student of Comilla Victoria College and a cultural activist, Sohagi Jahan Tonu was found dead a few yards off her house inside Comilla Cantonment in the night of March 20.
Initially, the wave of protest was limited to social media, especially in Facebook and then the incident was covered by both print and electronic media with due importance.
As the demand for justice grows louder and protest surges across the country, people from all walks of life, especially students, Wednesday demonstrated in many districts, including Dhaka, Comilla, Chittagong, Naogaon, Nilphamari, Bogra, Sylhet and Dinajpur.
During the protest rallies, students called upon all to observe daylong strike in all educational institutions on April 03 next demanding punishment to the killers of Tonu.
The protestors also strongly condemned failure of the law enforcement agencies to detain anyone although Tonu's father Yaar Hossain, an employee of Comilla Cantonment Board, filed the murder case just the day after finding her dead.
When contacted, Superintendent of Police (SP) of Comilla Shah Abid Hossain said the police have been making all-out efforts treating it a sensitive case to unveil mystery behind the death.
At the same time, Tonu's body was exhumed at Mirzapur village in Muradnagar upazila Wednesday noon following a court order and sent it to Comilla Medical College and Hospital for second autopsy.
"I think, it will help detect the criminals. We are determined to nab the culprits involved in the murder," he said. He also said her body would be buried again after the autopsy.
ASK Director (investigation) Nur Khan said the magnitude of violence the country has been witnessing in recent months has been more horrifying and brutal than any time in the past.
Expressing his serious concern, he said there is an allegation that law enforcement agencies have been creating mental pressure on Tonu's family members during interrogation.
He said the law enforcers are yet to detain anyone although 10 days of the incident have passed. "We know the statement of the victim's family is important in any case but interrogation throughout night is indicating something harassing," he added.
Chairman of the Sociology Department at Dhaka University Professor Monirul Islam Khan said family, social and community relations have broken down with mutual respect disappearing from among  people, resulting in such barbaric behaviour.
Many factors, including absence of punishment for such criminal activities and degradation of social and moral values, have largely been contributing to the crimes, he added.
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Source: The Financial Express