The recent incident of a woman being physically assaulted in Muradnagar upazila of Cumilla has caused widespread public outrage.
The woman was allegedly raped on the night of June 26 while she was visiting her father’s home in Panchkitta village.
A video of the assault was recorded and circulated online, resulting in further outrage across the country.
After the incident, the victim filed a rape case with Muradnagar Police Station the next day. According to the case statement, a gang of youths physically harassed the woman, with Fazar Ali being named the prime accused.
Case details further allege that Fazar had threatened to kill the victim if she disclosed the incident. Locals rushed to the spot and beat up Fazar when she began screaming for help, with an injured Fazar fleeing the scene, the case statement reads.
Meanwhile, police hunted down five youths, including the prime accused in the rape case, in separate raids conducted across the country on Sunday.
The prime accused, Fazar Ali, son of Shahid Mia of Muradnagar, was tracked down in a drive in the Sutrapur area of the capital, said Jahidur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Muradnagar Police Station.
Four others – Anik, Sumon, Ramzan and Babu- were nabbed for spreading the video on social media according to police officials.
Meanwhile, hundreds of students brought out a protest rally on the Dhaka University campus on Saturday night, demanding exemplary punishment for the alleged rapist, with protests being carried out in three areas across Dhaka city – Mirpur, Paltan, and at Dhaka University’s TSC.
The Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) has expressed concerns over the incident, with the rights organisation in a statement on Sunday, calling for a quick trial.
“This incident is not only a heinous crime but also a deliberate attack on women and a blatant expression of hatred,” their statement read, demanding a proper and prompt investigation into the incident and exemplary punishment for the culprits.
On Sunday, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul said that the government was committed to the quick trial of those responsible. “The Home Ministry took action immediately … the key suspects and others have already been arrested,” he told reporters at the Foreign Service Academy.
Moreover, the High Court asked the Bangladesh Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to remove all photographs and video footage of the incident from the internet within 24 hours.
The HC bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Sayed Jahed Mansur passed the order responding to a writ petition filed by Advocate Mir AKM Nurunnabi and asked the BTRC to submit a progress report in this regard on July 14.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also strongly condemned and protested the incident.