Five arrested over torture on woman in Noakhali

Five people were arrested on Sunday night in connection with a case filed over the torture of two people, including a housewife after an attempt to rape her, in Noakhali's Hatiya upazila.

The arrestees are the main accused Jihad, 30, of Mollahgram, Faruque Hossain, 30, Abu Taher, 27, Nabir Uddin, 32, of Adarshagram and Alamgir Hossain, 42, of Miaji village under Hatiya upazila, said Md Alamgir Hossain, superintendent of police in Noakhali during a press briefing yesterday.

The man who was tortured along with the housewife filed an assault case accusing the arrestees and six others on Sunday night.

The housewife filed a case over the attempt to rape her against five of the accused with Noakhali's Women and Children Repression Prevention court-2 on January 5, four days after the incident.

The incident came to light on Saturday when unverified footage of the torture went viral on social media.

The 32-year-old housewife and the man were tortured on January 1, when the accused led by Jihad and Faruque -- stormed her house in Ardarshagram in Hatiya's Chandi union, while her husband was not home, said inspector Md Abul Hasan of Morshed Bazar investigation centre.

Locals told police that they attempted to rape the housewife while raising allegations that she was in an extramarital affair with the man who was also tortured. Failing to do so, they tortured the woman and the man and stripped off their clothes, police said quoting locals.

Police rescued both victims, who were tied up with rope, after receiving a phone call to the 999 helpline by locals, said the police official.