Stalkers active in Tangail Eid markets

Conscious citizens formed a human chain in front of Capsule Market in the town yesterday afternoon, demanding a stop to stalking and sexual harassment of women.

Women, especially young girls, are facing sexual harassment by the stalkers who are active in markets and shopping malls in the town ahead of Eid.

One of the victims said a group of young stalkers hurled abusive words at her and her two friends in front of Capsule Market on Victoria Road in the town on Monday. When she protested, the smiling stalkers hurled more abusive words at them, she added.

Groups of youths, many of them having ties with political parties, gather at different markets and shopping malls and tease young girls, and also take their pictures with mobile phones, residents of the town said.

The stalkers, some of them riding motorbikes, are also active in front of the schools and coaching centres in the town at other times, but the law enforcers do not take any steps against them, they added.

When the matter was spread on Facebook, many conscious citizens of the town expressed their bitter anger over the matter and also blamed inaction of the law enforcers for the problem.

They demanded arrest of the stalkers and also sought exemplary punishment for them.

After this, detectives arrested four stalkers from different places in the town yesterday.

The arrestees are Touhid Rahman Ratul, 20, Rakib Alam, 20, and Robin Hasan of Bil Muril village, and Kawsar Ahmed, 28, of Anayetpur village in Sadar upazila.

They were arrested under Section 54 and a case under Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Act will be lodged against them after taking permission from the police headquarter, said District Detective Branch of Police Officer-in-Charge Ashoke Kumar Sinha.