Teen raped, held for ransom in Jhalakathi

A 14-year-old schoolgirl was allegedly raped and then held hostage for ransom in Charakahali of Rajapur in Jhalakathi on Sunday.

Md Shamsul Arefin, officer-in-charge of Rajapur Police Station, said the girl, a class-IX student, was allegedly abducted when she was returning home from Bhandaria upazila in Pirojpur with her uncle in the afternoon.

Suspect Helal Talukder, 28, abducted her with the help of his cohorts, the victim said after she was rescued. Helal had been stalking her for a long time, she added.

Helal took her to an undisclosed location, raped her and then confined her to a room somewhere else.

He then sought Tk 5,000 ransom from her grandparents whilst threatening to kill her, the victim said.

The motherless girl lives with her grandparents and her father works in Dhaka.

Her grandfather informed police of the matter and police rescued her around midnight when Helal's cohort Babul Talukder was allegedly attempting to rape her.

The teen was admitted to Jhalakathi Sadar Hospital.

“Helal demanded Tk 5,000 from me and now his father is repeatedly threatening us not to file a case,” the grandfather said.

“Although no case had been filed in this regard, we are trying to arrest Helal and his cohorts,” the OC said. He said Helal was accused in several robbery cases.