Police have filed a case against 58 people over violence following the alleged rape of a three-and-a-half-year-old child in Chairmanghata area under Bakalia Police Station in Chattogram city.
The allegations include arson attacks on police vehicles, assault on a deputy police commissioner and deterioration of the law and order situation.
The case also names another 400 to 500 unidentified individuals as accused.
The unrest was sparked by the alleged rape of a three-and-a-half-year-old child in the Chairman Ghata locality.
The case was initiated on Tuesday night by Sub-Inspector (SI) Akbar Hossain of Bakalia Police Station. The Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the station, Md. Solaiman, confirmed that 15 individuals have already been arrested.
Eleven of these suspects were apprehended during a coordinated joint operation involving the police, Detective Branch (DB), and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Monday night.
According to police sources, the violence erupted on 21 May after news spread that a local decoration worker, Md. Monir Hossain, had allegedly raped a minor child. The situation rapidly escalated into a large-scale uprising, with mobs engaging in stone-pelting, vandalism, and arson from the afternoon until late at night.
During the chaos, a police vehicle was set on fire, and the Deputy Commissioner of Police was targeted in an attack.
The unrest further spilled onto the Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar highway, where protesters established a blockade, bringing regional traffic to a complete standstill.
To regain control of the situation, security forces were compelled to deploy rubber bullets, sound grenades, and tear gas.
Investigating officers have alleged that the violence was not merely a spontaneous outburst. Evidence suggests a premeditated plan to lynch the accused, Monir Hossain, and to deliberately worsen the law and order situation to embarrass the government. Police successfully rescued Monir from the mob before he could be harmed; he was subsequently taken into custody and is currently in jail.
OC Md Solaiman stated that the accused were identified through an intensive analysis of CCTV footage, social media videos, and eyewitness accounts.
The original incident occurred on 21 May, when the victim’s father, Mehedi Hasan, filed a rape case against Monir Hossain. Authorities have confirmed that operations are ongoing to identify and apprehend the remaining suspects involved in the subsequent rioting.
