Abuse victim deposes via video call from Bangladesh

KOLKATA: A minor Bangladeshi girl, who was sexually assaulted for several days at a brothel in Sonagachhi after being promised job of a domestic help in 2012, deposed before an Alipore special court via video-conference from the office of the deputy commissioner of Mymensingh in Bangladesh.
This was the second instance where a victim made her statement in front of a judge via video conferencing.In 2015, an Irish national, who was drugged and raped by a Kalighat resident during her visit to the city in 2013, had deposed her statement over Skype.
The trial, which was strictly held over camera and made out of bounds for journalists, resumed on Wednesday afternoon and continued for the next two
hours. Magistrate Kumkum Sinha allowed only the senior counsel to stay during the trial. The proceedings continued without a break.
“The victim gave her statement before the court and was also cross questioned by the defence counsels. All these happened over video conferencing, for the first time ever in the city sessions court,” said Tamal Mukherjee, the public prosecutor.
In 2012, the 15-year-old girl from Bangladesh was allegedly brought to the city by Ratna Bibi, who had promised her a job of a domestic help. She, however, landed at a brothel in Sonagachi brothel and subjected to physical and mental torture over the next nine days.