Girl abducted again by same assailant

A 16-year-old girl, who was abducted and raped by a youth around three years ago, has been abducted again allegedly by the same person in Lalmonirhat.

The girl, who belongs to the Hindu community, has remained traceless since the second abduction on May 10, said her family members.

Police said they are trying to rescue her and arrest the alleged abductor.

The accused is Arif Hossain, 33, a resident of Madhuram village in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila. Arif works as an accountant at Lalmonirhat's Teesta Degree College.

The victim's father, a sharecropper, said Arif used to stalk her daughter on her way to and back from school. In June 2020, Arif and his cohorts abducted the girl when she was an eighth-grader.

Arif kept her confined to an unknown place for six days and raped her. The victim somehow manage to flee from her captivity and returned home, said her father.

On June 10, 2020, her father filed a case against Arif with Lalmonirhat Sadar Police Station, on charges of abducting and raping her daughter.

Two days later, Arif was arrested. Police submitted the charge sheet before a court against Arif on September 27, 2020. The case is currently under trial in court.

However, Arif got bail after seven months. The victim stopped going to school since then, her father told The Daily Star.

Meanwhile, Arif continued to stalk her whenever she went out of her house. On May 10, she was going to a relative's house, when Arif and his cohorts abducted her again.

"Some locals, who witnessed the incident, told us that Arif and his men abducted my daughter again. She has remained traceless since then," said the victim's father, who filed a written complaint with the same police station on May 12.

"We are in a state of constant anxiety. We want her back and we want justice," said the victim's mother.

Local union parishad member Abdus Salam confirmed the incident and said, "Arif used to stalk the girl. We arranged social arbitration on two occasions last year and warned Arif against this behaviour. However, he did not pay any heed to us."

Contacted over the phone, Arif's wife declined to comment on the matter.

Lalmonirhat Sadar Police Station's Officer-in-Charge Ershadul Alam said they have received the complaint and are currently trying to rescue the girl and arrest the accused.

The district's Superintendent of Police Shaiful Islam said police are seriously looking into the matter and will take legal action upon investigation.

Teesta Degree College's principal Abdus Salam said he did not know whether Arif served in prison over a rape charge and informed this correspondent that Arif is currently on leave.

"I will take departmental action if anyone files a written complaint with me," he added.