Noakhali gang rape: Prime accused arrested in Comilla

The Detective Branch of police has arrested two more accused in the Noakhali gang rape case, one of whom is the prime accused.

The detectives arrested the prime accused, Sohel, during a raid in a brick field at Moheshpur in the Barura upazila, Comilla on Wednesday afternoon.

The night before, they arrested the third accused, Swapan, 35, during a raid in the Azadnagar area of the Ramgati upazila in Lakshmipur.

Both Sohel and Swapan are residents of the Modhya Bagya village at Char Jubilee union under Noakhali's Subarnachar upazila.

The gang rape took place in the Modhya Bagya village in the early hours of Monday.

A 30-year-old woman, mother of four, was gang-raped allegedly by a group of local members of the Awami League.

The woman’s husband, who filed a case against nine people with Charjabbar police station on Monday night, said the group of miscreants, wielding firearms, barged into their home around midnight, tied him and his children up, forcefully took his wife away from their home and gang-raped her.

The husband claimed they had attacked his wife because she had voted for the local BNP candidate in the 11th general election held on Sunday.

Police arrested one of the accused, Badshah Alam Bashu, 40, on Monday, said Charjabbar police station OC Nizam Uddin. He is also a resident of the Modhya Bagya village.

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NHRC, ASK meet the survivor, MJF demands justice

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) formed a three-member committee to investigate the incident.

The committee went to Noakhali General Hospital, where the survivor is currently undergoing treatment, and took her statement on Wednesday afternoon.

NHRC Director (Complaints and Investigation) Al-Mahmud Fayzul Kabir, who is heading the committee, said: “We will submit our investigation report to the commission after we receive her medical report.”

A team of rights advocacy NGO Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) also met with the gang rape survivor at the hospital on Wednesday.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police Mohammad Foyez visited the crime scene around 4pm on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, rights advocacy group Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) issued a statement on Wednesday, demanding exemplary punishment of the rapists.

Demanding proper investigation into the incident, MJF Executive Director Shaheen Anam said: “Women are always victims of election violence. This is unacceptable.”

Welcoming the NHRC’s initiative to independently look into the incident, she said although nine people have been sued, the key accused remains free.

Shaheen urged the government to take effective measures to prevent sexual violence against women.