7-yr-old raped, then murdered

Police yesterday recovered the body of a seven-year-old girl, killed allegedly after rape, in Chapainawabganj. In addition, two men were sued yesterday in a rape incident in Gazipur and one accused of gangraping a minor was arrested in Khulna.

Two housewives were raped by their neighbours in separate incidents in Brahmanbaria and Habiganj since Sunday night.

Our Chapainawabganj correspondent reports Moslema Khatun Rima went out from her house, in Manik Hajirtola village under Char Bagdanga union, on Monday, but did not return. Locals found her dead body at a bamboo cluster behind MH Government Primary School, where she was a nursery student, yesterday morning and informed the police.

Police recovered the dead body from the spot at noon yesterday and sent it to Chapainawabganj Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy, said Mahbub Alam Khan, additional superintendent of police  (Sadar Circle).

It is primarily suspected that she was killed after rape, said the SI.

The victim's father Ruhul Amin said after returning from school at noon on Monday, Rima went out to play but did not return at her usual time. After several hours, they started looking for her and rented a loudspeaker to make announcements in the area.      Failing to find Rima, he lodged a general diary with the sadar police station on Monday night.

On Tuesday morning, Ruhul received a call from a relative that locals had found his daughter's body.

Ziaur Rahman, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the sadar police station, confirmed that the victim's father, Ruhul Amin, filed a case with the station on charge of murder and rape. Police are trying to nab the culprit, said the OC.

Ruhul demanded exemplary punishment of the killer.

In Brahmanbaria, a single mother of two children was raped by her neighbour at Mohisber village in Nasirnagar upazila on Sunday night. The 25-year-old was admitted to Brahmanbaria General Hospital on Monday evening, reports our Brahmanbaria correspondent.

Shipon Mia, the survivor's brother, who was attending his sister at the hospital, told The Daily Star that their neighbour Akbar forcibly took her to the adjacent field when she went outside to the tubewell. Akbar then raped her, with her hands and feet bound, he said.      Her family members heard the struggle and found her there, the rapist having fled the scene.

The alleged rapist Akbar Mia, 30, a carpenter by profession, is in hiding since the incident, Shipon said.

Dr Sharmin Hoque Sumi, medical officer of the gynecology department of Brahmanbaria General Hospital, said they conducted a medical check-up of the survivor and sent it to the forensic department of Chattogram Medical College and Hospital. They are awaiting the report, she said.

When contacted, Nasirnagar police station OC Shazedur Rahman said no one came to file a case yet, but if anyone comes, necessary action will be taken forthwith.     

  In Habiganj, a woman was allegedly raped by a neighbour in Nabiganj upazila on Monday evening, family members said. She was taken to Habiganj Sadar Hospital by her father later that evening.

The hospital's emergency department doctor Koli Akhter said they did a medical test of the victim but are yet to get the medical examination report, reports our correspondent.     

  The survivor said she came to her parents' home from her in-laws' last week.  Salamat Miah, 25, a grocer from the same village, raped her inside his empty store when she went to buy groceries on Monday evening, she said.

Nabiganj police station OC Azikur Rahman confirmed the incident and said the family were yet to file a case, till the report was filed yesterday afternoon.     

Family members of both rape survivors were preparing to file cases.

In Gazipur, two man were sued yesterday in a rape incident at Shaheed Rowshan Sarak area of town.

The main accused, Imran Hossain, 45, hailing from Barishal, used to live in a rented house in the area. The identity of the other accused is not yet known.

Police said Imran and the victim were acquainted with each other. On Saturday morning, Imran made a phone call to the victim, aged around 30, and asked her to come to his residence saying that he would arrange a job for her.

When the victim went, Imran proposed that the women have physical relations with him. As the woman declined, Imran raped her while one of his associates acted as guard, said KM Kawsar Ahmed Chowdhury, OC of Basan police station under Gazipur Metropolitan Police.

Later yesterday, the victim filed a rape case against the duo, who has been on the run since the incident, the OC added.

Police also arrested a youth, Shahin, 30, yesterday from a village under Digholia upazila of Khulna on charge of gangraping a minor girl.

The other two accused -- Shariful Islam, 32, and Kajol, 19 -- are on the run, said Monzur Morshed, OC of Digholia Police Station.

The trio gangraped the eight-grader in a residence at Fulbari Gate area in the city on February 14. On Monday, the victim's family members filed a case against the three men.