Against a backdrop of ongoing countrywide outrage and protests against rape, the prime accused of a gang-rape of a teenage girl from Lalmonirhat was arrested on Friday night, and a demonstration was held yesterday demanding justice for the murder of a woman in Dinajpur, killed allegedly after rape.

From Patgram, Lalmonirhat, the 15-year-old orphan was travelling from her aunt's house to an uncle's house at Kaunia upazila in Rangpur by train on the evening of October 6.

When the train arrived at Kakina Railway Station in Kaliganj upazila, the girl disembarked to buy food and missed the train, said the OC, quoting the victim.

An auto rickshaw driver Rocky Islam took the girl, telling her that he would take her to Kaunia, but took her instead to a secluded place where he and three others who joined him gang-raped her.

Locals rescued the girl the next morning, police added, and with the help of some journalists from the local Press Club, she went to the police station and filed a rape case.

The victim filed a rape case with police accusing four named and several unnamed persons on Friday night, said Farhad Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC) of Kaliganj Police Station.

Hours later, police arrested the prime accused Rocky, 26, of Baninagar village in Kaliganj upazila.

The victim's medical test was completed yesterday afternoon, said the Kaliganj OC, adding the police are continuing drives to arrest the rest of the accused.

In Dinajpur, several hundred members of the local indigenous community staged a demonstration yesterday demanding trial of the "killers" of 23-year-old Rukit Rout, who was allegedly killed after gang-rape.

The demonstration, which started at 10:30am and lasted two hours, was held at Shaheed Minar mor in Parbatipur upazila.

At the demonstration, members of the indigenous community alleged that she was killed after gang-rape.

Rukit, an honours final year student of Carmichael College in Rangpur city, was on her way to her dormitory from her home in Adivasi Palli Missionpara in Badarganj upazila of Rangpur on the afternoon of October 5, said her father.

Police recovered Rukit's body the next day from Panchpukuria village in Parbatipur upazila of Dinajpur.

The victim's father, Dinesh Rout, filed a murder case with local police, who arrested three persons in this connection on Thursday.

One of the accused, Anisur Rahman, 24, gave confessional testimony before a court admitting to his involvement with the killing, said police. The trio was later sent to jail.

[Our correspondents from Lalmonirhat and Dinajpur contributed to this report.]