2 Students of SUST Placed on Four-Day Remand in Rape Case

A Sylhet court has granted a four-day remand for two students of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), accused of raping a fellow student. The accused, Shanto Tara Adnan and Swagato Das Partho, are both third-year students from the Department of Sociology. Shanto Tara Adnan is reportedly a member of the banned student group Chhatra League and also an accused in the July attack case.

On Monday, June 23, Sylhet’s Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harun-ur-Rashid issued the remand order after hearing arguments from both sides.

University legal advisor Md. Tajuddin told the press that police had sought a five-day remand for the purpose of interrogation. After hearing the arguments, the court approved four days of remand.

Earlier that morning, the two accused were presented before the court at approximately 9:45 AM. Around 11:00 AM, while the remand hearing was underway, more than 50 SUST students gathered outside the court in protest. At one point, they took position in the veranda near the courtroom. Police later dispersed the crowd. By 12:30 PM, the accused were taken to jail in a prison van.

The case stems from an incident on May 2, when the accused allegedly took a female student to a private residence and raped her. On June 19, the victim filed a written complaint with the university’s proctor office.

Following the complaint, a case was filed under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act and the Pornography Control Act. Police arrested the accused shortly afterward.