3 sent to jail over rape of 11-yr-old

A Cox's Bazar court on Saturday sent three men to jail on charge of gang-raping an 11-year-old girl.

The accused are Mohammad Arif, 23, of Pekua upazila's Goakhali village, Md Rashed, 20, and Mohammad Juel, 20, both from Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camp in Ukhia upazila.

Police said the trio are known criminals and often snatch money and valuables from tourists from the sea beach.

They raped the homeless child inside a flower garden near Laboni Point on Friday morning.

They then left the victim in an unconscious state. A woman who went to the beach for a morning walk, found the victim.

"On information, we rushed to the spot and took the girl to a hospital," said Omar Faruk, president of "Notun Jibon" (new life), a social organisation that works for street children.

On the basis of a verbal compliant of the victim and the organisation's members, police arrested the three youths the same evening from different spots of the sea beach.

Notun Jibon member Mohammad Jobair filed a gang-rape case with Cox's Bazar Sadar Police Station, said Munir Ul Gias, officer-in-charge (OC) of the police station.

The following day, the accused were produced before a court which sent them to jail.

The victim was sent to a hospital for medical tests.