C T Online Desk: ‘Necessary legal changes to be brought in about a week’.
Law Adviser Asif Nazrul on Sunday told reporters necessary legal changes will be made soon to ensure rape investigations are finalised within 15 days and trials are completed within 90 days of filing cases.
The legal changes will be brought within a week, the adviser said at the Secretariat.
Even if authorities fail to complete a trial within 90 days, the accused cannot secure bails simply on this ground, Asif Nazrul noted. Furthermore, when deemed prudent to expedite trials, a judge can use a simple medical document, certifying the victim as a rape victim, as evidence.
At present, the DNP samples of both the victim and the perpetrators are required to prove the latters as culpable in courts. However, due to the unavailability of DNA testing facilities in different parts of the country, the investigations and trials get delayed.
Furthermore, the appointed investigation officer has to complete his/her work within 15 days, the law adviser told reporters. Previously, the officer had to complete investigation within 30 days, and upon failure could be replaced.
Asif Nazrul said the home ministry will soon launch a toll-free hotline for preventing sexual abuses and harassment on the streets. A dedicated home ministry cell will monitor the hotline. The law ministry will also form a dedicated cell to monitor rape cases.
At the meeting, information adviser Mahfuz Alam said awareness video materials will be prepared with support from the culture ministry. The government will also sit down with media figures to calibrate news over mob justice to disseminate the truth among people, the information adviser said.
