Rape victim’s father murdered the night before court hearing

Police recovered the body of a rape victim's father in Barguna town early yesterday.

The victim's family members claimed that he was murdered by associates of the rape accused, who is now in jail.

The deceased worked at a poultry shop in the town. His daughter, a fifth grader, was raped allegedly by one of their neighbours on March 7.

The next day, the victim's father filed a case against Shibu Das, 30, and other unnamed individuals accusing them of aiding Shibu in the crime.

Police arrested Shibu on March 8, and he was sent to jail by a court, police said.

Since Shibu's arrest, his cohorts had allegedly been threatening the victim's family and putting pressure on them to withdraw the case, the family claimed.

The family said there was a court hearing scheduled yesterday.

The deceased's wife said, "Yesterday [Tuesday] evening, my husband told me over the phone that he would return home late, but he never came."

"At one point, we started looking for him in the area and found him in a bush near our house late at night," she added.

"The criminals -- associates of the accused rapist -- have killed my husband. I want justice," she told The Daily Star yesterday.

Barguna Sadar Police Station's Officer-in-Charge Dewan Jaglul Hasan said, "Police recovered the body around 1:00am [Wednesday]. Our initial investigation suggests that the person was murdered. Further investigation is underway, and legal action will be taken accordingly."

The victim's family had not filed any complaint regarding the threats, he said.