14-year-old girl raped in Cox’s Bazar

Police arrested a man, said to be an Awami League activist, on charge of raping a 14-year-old girl from the Tripura community. The incident happened on Friday night in Cox’s Bazar’s Chakaria, which is adjacent to Bandarban’s Lama upazila.

The victim, a ninth grader, was raped around 8:00pm after she went out of her hostel in Lama’s Hebron Mission area to drink water from a tube well nearby, said locals.

They said a political programme, organised by the Bandarban-Lama AL unit, was underway in the area and that there were several on-duty policemen present there.

Hearing the girl’s screams, the law enforcers rescued her and arrested Shimul on the spot, they said.

After being rescued, the victim was first taken to Lama Upazila Health Complex and then referred to Bandarban Sadar Hospital.

Aung Shwe Prue Marma, civil surgeon of Bandarban, said, “The victim said she was raped. We are examining her and giving her treatment.”

He did not disclose further.

Asked, Oppela Raju Naha, officer-in-charge of Lama Police Station, confirmed that Shimul was arrested.

“The place where the incident happened is in Chakaria. So we handed the accused to Chakaria police,” he said.

A case was filed by the manager of the hostel with Chakaria Police Station, said its OC  Habibur  Rahman.

Locals claimed Shimul was an AL activist, but the party’s local unit said it had nothing to do with him.

After the incident, panic gripped around 150 students, including 74 females, living in the hostel, said its superintendent.

The superintendent said they had to allow such political programmes in face of pressure from ruling party leaders.

Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Minister Bir Bahadur U Shwe Sing, among others, was present at the programme on Friday,

said Mostafa Jamal, vice president of the AL in Lama upazila.

“It is unfortunate that an unexpected incident has happened there,” he said.