Woman gang raped in Cox’s Bazar

A woman and three children were raped in separate reported incidents around the country in the past week.

In Cox’s Bazar’s Maheshkhali Upazila, a woman filed a gangrape case against 14 youths with the local police, nearly a week after those involved tried to cover up the incident through an arbitration with the help of representatives from the local government body.

According to the case statement, on the evening of July 7, the victim was going in an auto-rickshaw from Gorakhghata to Chaliatali under Kamarchhara union. At one point, she got into an argument with the auto-rickshaw driver, Osman Gani, as she did not have enough money for the fare. The victim offered her mobile phone as payment.

Some of the local youths who witnessed the incident then came forward to offer her help. They led her to the hills in Chaliatali, where they gangraped the victim throughout the night.

Osman, too, allegedly joined the rapists.

According to the victim’s family, the rapists tried to settle the matter through an arbitration as news of the incident spread. On July 10, they enlisted the help of local upazila parishad members Liakat Ali and Khadiza Begum for the arbitration but the attempt failed.

Two days later on Friday, the victim filed a case accusing six named and eight unnamed people.

Three of the accused -- Monu Mian, 32, one of the rapists and UP members Liakat Ali and Khadiza Begum -- have been arrested over the case. 

The Maheshkhali Upazila Senior Judicial Magistrate’s Court granted five-day remands for each of them yesterday.

Elsewhere in the district’s Ukhia upazila, a class two student was assaulted in a rape attempt inside a mosque by an imam on Thursday.

Before filing of the case on Friday, local UP member fined the imam, Nurul Amin, Tk 1 lakh, in an arbitration.

The incident took place when the girl was returning home from school around noon. On her way, the imam stopped her and brought her to Dail Para Jam-e-Mosque on the pretext of needing her help to sweep the floors.

The accused is now on the run.

In Noakhali, a young man named Sohrab Hossain was arrested yesterday in connection with the rape of a fifth-grader. He raped the girl on Thursday near her house in Ramganj of Lakshmipur.

In another incident of rape, a 55-year-old suspect was arrested in Jessore yesterday

The victim is a six-year-old girl. The accused, Abdul Malek, had taken the girl to his house on Wednesday, promising her with treats and then raped her.

The girl was admitted to Chuadanga Sadar Hospital for treatment and a case was filed with Chuadanga police.

Meanwhile, a high school teacher resigned from his post yesterday after he was caught allegedly trying to rape a class nine student.

The incident took place at Sengram High School in Khoksa upazila of Kushtia on Thursday.

According to police, the victim went to the teacher as she needed help with her studies. The teacher took her to an empty classroom and then attempted to rape her.

School staffers and teachers were alerted when the girl screamed for help. As news of the incident spread, incensed locals surrounded the school building yesterday and demanded immediate suspension of the teacher.

Khoksa police then arrived at the school premises, after which the teacher re-signed.

No case was filed over the incident.