Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested the alleged mastermind of a rape, blackmail and pornography ring that reportedly operated under the cover of a non-government organisation in Habiganj’s Bahubal Upazila.
The suspect, Nurul Islam alias Nurul Haque, was detained on Sunday evening during a raid by a team from RAB-9’s Shayestaganj camp in the Chunarughat area.
Nurul Haque, son of Ali Hossain of Lakuripara village in Mirpur Union of Bahubal, is accused of exploiting vulnerable women through an organisation he ran in the name of humanitarian and NGO activities.
According to police and case documents, a young woman filed a case with Bahubal Police Station against Nurul Haque, his associate Abul Bashar alias Mamun Bakht of Osmaninagar, and four to five unidentified individuals.
The case was filed under relevant sections of the Pornography Control Act, 2012 and the Children Repression Prevention (Amendment) Ordinance.
The complainant alleged that she joined Nurul Haque’s organisation as an office assistant about a year ago and soon began facing repeated sexual advances.
On 28 February 2025, she was allegedly raped inside the organisation’s office at Mahashoyer Bazar.
The victim told investigators that the suspect secretly recorded the assault on a mobile phone and later used the video to blackmail her.
She alleged that he repeatedly raped her over the following five months by threatening to release the footage online.
The victim further alleged that she was at times given sedatives and handed over to some of Nurul Haque’s associates, including expatriates.
After she resigned from the job, the suspect allegedly sent the explicit videos to his contacts abroad and the footage later spread on social media.
Police said at least two other young women from Chunarughat and Bahubal also reported similar allegations of rape and sexual harassment in the case.
Earlier on 15 February, a student named Rashida submitted a written complaint to the Habiganj deputy commissioner and the upazila nirbahi officer over the activities of the organisation.
RAB-9 CPC-3 Shayestaganj Camp Company Commander Lieutenant Sajjad Hossain said the arrest was made based on intelligence information during a drive in the Chunarughat area.
He said preliminary interrogation suggested that the suspect had long been exploiting women by trapping them in blackmail schemes under the guise of human rights and NGO activities.
Bahubal Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Saiful Islam said the case is being investigated with importance and the accused was arrested with RAB assistance while he was on the run.
He said the suspect will be produced before a court following legal procedures.
