In Panchagarh Sadar upazila, police have arrested four young men for allegedly gang-raping a woman while holding a knife to her one-and-a-half-year-old son’s throat.
Police reported that the victim filed a case at Panchagarh Sadar Police Station on Saturday, after which raids were conducted overnight, leading to arrests from their respective homes.
The arrested individuals are Johnny Islam (27), Biplob Hossain (25), Moksedul Islam (33), and Sadekul Islam (28).
On Friday night at around 12:30am, after receiving a call on the national emergency helpline 999, the woman and her child were rescued unconscious from a tea garden in the Three Mile area and taken to Modern Sadar Hospital.
The victim stated that she was returning from Boda to her father’s house after her son had fallen ill with diarrheoa. On the way, a known auto-rickshaw driver called her, and when she got out of the vehicle, six young men forcibly took her to the tea garden. They held a knife to her son’s throat, threatening her to stay silent.
She said, “I could recognise four of them. Before leaving, they sprayed something on my face, making me unconscious.”
Dr Abdul Kashem from the hospital confirmed signs of physical assault but said the victim’s condition is now stable.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Sadar Police Station Abdullah Hil Zaman said that, although the victim accused six individuals, four have been identified and arrested. Operations are underway to apprehend the remaining suspects.