Prime accused arrested

Police in a drive yesterday detained the prime accused in connection with a case for raping a teenage girl in Ishwarganj upazila of the district early Friday.

The law enforcers arrested Sohag Mia, 19, from Kuliarchar area in the upazila around 6:30pm, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Ishwarganj Police Station Badrul Alam Khan said.

Police were interrogating Sohag at the police station as of filing of this report around 7:30pm, OC Badrul said, adding that they were conducting drives to arrest Sohag's associate.

Earlier, the 16-year-old victim, who passed her SSC examinations this year, left her studies and was forced to move to the capital four months ago to escape from her stalker Sohag.

Later, she took a job at a garment factory in Dhaka, family sources said.

On Thursday, she went to her family in Ishwarganj for a visit.

In the wee hours of Friday, when she went out of her room to respond to nature's call, Sohag and his accomplice forcibly took her to an isolated place nearby, raped her there and cut her genitals with a blade.

Hearing her screams, family members and neighbours rushed her to Ishwarganj Upazila Health Complex.