Subarnachar gang-rape: All three accused arrested
Police today arrested another accused on charges of raping a woman and her minor daughter in a village of Char Wapda union in Noakhali's Subarnachar upazila.
Md Harun, 42, was arrested from Dhaka early today. He was absconding since the Tuesday's incident, said Noakhali Superintendent of Police Md Asaduzzaman this afternoon.
Asaduzzaman said, "A team of district police arrested him from Dhaka. After the incident, Harun fled to various locations. He even attempted to flee to India through the Jashore border. Since then police have been monitoring his movements using information technology. Police arrested all three of the accused in the case," said the SP.
Meanwhile, the main accused in the case, Charwapada union Awami League president and former UP member Abul Khair alias Munshi Member was produced before a court yesterday with a seven-day remand plea. After the hearing today, the court granted a four-day remand.
Another accused in the case, Mehraj Uddin, 48, confessed to the crime and his confessional statement was recorded at the court of District Senior Judicial Magistrate Tanya Islam yesterday afternoon. Court Inspector Md Shah Alam confirmed this information to our local correspondent this afternoon.
Mehraj in his confessional statement said that he agreed to the proposal of two other accused -- Abul Khair Munshi and Md Harun -- and entered the house of the victims on the night of the incident with the intention of theft in the absence of the woman's husband.
At one stage, Munshi Member and Harun took turns to gang rape the woman. At that time, Mehraj raped the 12-year-old daughter of the woman who was in another room. Later, the three men left the house with gold jewelries and money.
The two were raped around 2:00am Tuesday.
The incident occurred just hours after a Noakhali court sentenced 10 people to death, including local AL leader Ruhul Amin, and six others to life imprisonment for raping a woman in the same upazila on December 30, 2018.
Speaking to this newspaper, the victim said she had recently moved to Charkaji Mokhles village in Subarnachar with her husband and children from the neighbouring Hatia upazila.
"My husband works as a day labourer and is often away from home for work. He returns in every 3-4 days. Two days ago, he left home again and I was alone with our three daughters. Around 2:00am, a man broke into our house and let two others in. They tied me and my daughters up and gagged us. While two men raped me, the other raped one of my daughters … I recognised two of them [rapists]."
She added that before the rapists left, they took her gold ornaments and cash.
"After they left my home, leaving us still tied up, my children screamed for help. The neighbours heard them and came to rescue us."
They also called 999 and informed police about the incident.
After the incident, the victim woman filed a case against three people with the Charjabbar Police Station under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.
Police later sent the victims to Noakhali General Hospital.
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