Female boat passenger gang raped in Bhola
Staff Reporter, Dhaka
A woman was gang raped in Bhola by the passengers of a speed boat while she was going to Manpura Island with her child on Saturday. On hearing of the incident, the speedboat owner, who arrived at the spot after getting information, also raped the woman instead of taking her to the hospital. The victim, along with her two-and-a-half year-old son, was returning home from her parents place at Dakkhin Aicha village in Charfasson upazila by a speedboat. Shakawat Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC) of Manpura police station, yesterday confirmed the incident and said a case has been filed over the incident. He said the woman had been sent to Bhola Sadar Hospital. The accused are on the run and the police are looking for them, he added. The OC further said that deputy inspector general of police (Barishal range) Shafiqul Islam was scheduled to visit the spot around noon.
The victim filed a case against five people who raped her and another one who helped the rapists. The accused are the speed boat owner and also a former Chhatra League president of Sakuchia Union in Bhola Nazrul Islam, 30, Md Belal Patawary, 35, Md Rashed Palowan, 25, Md Shahin Khan, 22, Md Kiron, 26 and the speed boat driver Md Riaz, who allegedly helped the others. According to the case statement, the woman was going to Manpura Island. So, she came to the Betua Lunch terminal but failed to get any launch. Later, she boarded to a speed boat. There were two other passengers in it. Two more boarded the boat at Janatar Khalerpar around 12:30pm.
After running for some distance, the passengers of the boat stopped it at Char Piyal. They forced the woman to get down from the boat and took her to a forest where they raped her. Next, the driver of the boat called the owner of the speed boat. Being informed, the owner, Nazrul Islam, came to Char Piyal by another speed boat and beat the four rapists, the victim said in the case statement. Sources said, the boat owner allowed them to go after taking Tk. 3,000 from them and later violated the housewife and captured the incident on his mobile phone. Nazrul also gave her Tk. 1,000 and threatened to circulate the video if she disclosed the matter to anyone, sources said. Cowherds and buffalo owners, who were in the Char, saw the incident and informed the matter to local chairman Aliullah. The chairman rescued the woman and took her to the police station. The chairman said that the owner of the boat happened to be a former Chhatra League president.
