A student of class-VIII was allegedly gang-raped at Naldanga in Sadullapur upazila on Friday night.

Police said the girl, a student of Naldanga Adarsha High school, appeared at this year's JSC examination. They have arrested three people over the incident.

On Friday evening, the victim and her mother went to Naldanga Bazar from their home in Kachari Bazar village for groceries. Her mother later left for the victim's grandfather's home, and the girl was walking back home alone.

Around 9:00pm, a young man named Sohag Mia stopped her, and four others turned up on the spot. They then tied her up with a scarf, and dragged her to a nearby sugarcane field where they raped her, police said.

Hearing the victim's screams, locals rushed to the spot and caught alleged rapists Shariful Islam, 23, and Babu Mia, 22. Sohag, 23, and the two others fled.  

Around 10:00pm, locals staged a demonstration protesting the incident and ransacked the shop of Sohag's father, who is a local Jubo League leader. They found Sohag at the shop and picked him up from there. The three were then handed over to police.

The girl was taken to Gaibandha Sadar Hospital.

Officer-in-charge Borhanuddin of Sadullapur Police Station said the arrestees confessed to raping the girl and named the two others involved -- Rubel Mia, 22, and Khushu Mia, 23.

Rubel and Khushu were still on the run.

Yesterday, the victim's uncle Abdul Halim filed a case with the police station against the five people.

Sohag had been stalking and harassing his niece for quite some time, he stated in the case.