At least 187 women were raped and 29 women faced sexual harassment across the country in the last three months, according to a report of Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK).

Among the rape victims, 19 women were killed and two committed suicide after rape, the ASK said in a press statement yesterday.

Of the 29 women who faced sexual harassment, one committed suicide while two men were killed protesting such incidents, the report added.

“Crimes like rape have been increasing in the society gradually,” it said.

The rights body published the report at a time when rape and murder of Beauty Akter in Habiganj's Shayestaganj upazila has created an outrage in the country.

Rape of a Marma girl in Rangamati's Bilaichhari upazila was also mentioned in the ASK statement. Sister of the Marma girl was also harassed sexually “by state force”, it added.

Assault of Yan Yan, queen of the Chakma circle, over the issue, is also mentioned.

The rights body has prepared the report based on its own findings and reports published in eight leading national dailies.

The ASK said killing and torture of children in different parts of the country was “alarming” as 422 children were either killed or tortured in the three months since January.

Of them, 71 children were killed and 26 committed suicide, it mentioned.

At least 46 people were killed in “crossfire” with law enforcement agencies in the last three months, it added.

Of them, 16 were killed in “crossfire” with Rab while 19 with police, five with Detective Branch of police and the rest were killed in “crossfire” with other agencies, it said.

The rights group said plainclothes men identifying themselves as law enforcers picked up four people during the period. Two of them returned while one was shown arrested.

The law enforcement agencies, however, denied the allegations.

At least 25 people including Chhatra Dal leader Zakir Hossain died in jail custody, it said.

According to the ASK report, 11 people were killed and 1,488 were injured in 109 incidents of political violence in the three months.

At least 65 journalists faced torture, harassment, threat and obstruction while discharging their duties during the period, it said.

Body of a journalist, Suman Sikder, was recovered from his flat in Jatrabari while cameraperson of DBC news Suman Hasan was tortured by DB police in Barisal, it mentioned. Eight DB men were suspended over it.

Five houses of Hindu community were vandalised and torched while 17 idols and temples and Puja mandaps were attacked in the last three months, it said.

At least 19 people were injured in the incidents, it said, adding that a priest was killed at his home in Pabna.

The report added that three persons were tortured to death by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) while seven others were injured and three were abducted.

Sixteen people were killed in mass beatings, it mentioned.

ASK also mentioned about the attack on Prof Muhammed Zafar Iqbal on the campus of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) in broad daylight on March 3.

Investigators said the attack bears hallmarks of Ansar al Islam, a banned militant outfit.