Tangail AL leader sued for raping teen

An Awami League leader, also elder brother of a ruling party lawmaker in Tangail, has been sued over the rape and torture of a teenager.

According to the case statement, the 17-year-old victim is now pregnant due to the rape.

The accused, Golam Kibria Boro Moni, is vice-president of Tangail town AL and secretary general of the district's Bus-Minibus Owners' Association.

He is the elder brother of Tanvir Hasan Soto Monir, a Tangail-2 AL lawmaker.

Moni's wife Nigar Aftab was also accused of torturing the girl, according to the case filed with Tangail Sadar Police Station early yesterday.

The victim, who used to live alone since the death of her parents, is allegedly a relative of the accused.

Banking on the fact that she was alone, Moni would stalk and keep a close watch on her. On December 17, he called and asked her to come to his home in the town's Purbo Adalatpur area, reads the case statement.

When she went there, he raped her at gunpoint and took photographs. He then released her but not without a warning that he would publish the photos on social media if she shared the matter with anyone.

Boro Moni raped the girl multiple times in phases using the same threat, the victim alleges in the case statement.

When she became pregnant, he continuously pressured her to abort the child.

Abortion is illegal in Bangladesh under most situations.

On March 29 this year, Boro Moni picked up the girl from her house and took her to his father-in-law's house. He and his wife then tortured her and threatened to kill her if she didn't consent to abortion.

Around 2:00am yesterday, the pregnant teenager filed a case against the couple.

She also alleged, "I went to the police station around 2:00pm yesterday [Wednesday], but they were hesitant to record my case as the accused are influential. They finally lodged it around 12 hours later, at 2:00am [yesterday]."

Talking to The Daily Star yesterday evening over the phone, she said, "Now, I am getting phone calls from unknown callers, who are threatening me in various ways."

However, Md Abdus Salam, officer-in-charge of Tangail Sadar Police Station, denied the allegation that police delayed the filing of the case. "It was recorded around 10:00pm on Wednesday."

Asked why the accused was not arrested till last evening, he said, "We are investigating the case and will act as per the law."

Inspector Habibur Rahman, who is also the investigation officer of the case, yesterday said the victim was sent to Tangail General Hospital for medical tests.

Dr Sadequr Rahman, hospital superintendent, said the tests were conducted by a three-member board, headed by a gynaecologist.

Tanvir Ahmed, court inspector of Tangail police, said the court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Meske Jannat Ripa recorded the victim's statement yesterday.

Contacted yesterday, Boro Moni denied the allegations and said his political rivals were conspiring against him.