Woman pushed off a moving bus, victim of attempted rape

Women in the country continue to be sexually harassed on buses, and become victims of rape, despite swift justice dealt out by the law.

A Bangladeshi woman returning home from overseas, reportedly fell victim to an attempted rape and was pushed off a moving bus on her way to her hometown in Ghior upazila of Manikganj.

Police arrested the bus driver Nayeb Ali, 40, and his assistant Shohag, 20, and put them in jail on Saturday as the district court was not in session. 

Ghior police station OC Ashraful Alam said: “Upon information, we quickly chased the bus in question and apprehended the suspects. We will seek a 7-day remand, once the court is in session.”

The injured woman filed the case herself with Ghior police station following the incident around 10:30pm on Friday.

According to the case statement, the woman employed in Jordan, had come back to visit her hometown in Ghior upazila. She boarded a bus from Shahjalal International Airport to Manikganj Bus Stand, where she boarded a Swapno Paribahan bus and headed for Ghior. 

Once all the passengers had gotten off at their respective stops, the bus driver and his assistant turned off the lights and tried to rape her. 

When she fought back and started screaming, they decided to push her off the moving bus and escape. She was rescued by local pedestrians who immediately contacted the police.

On May 6, 23-year-old Shahinur Akter Tania, an Ibn Sina Hospital nurse in Dhaka, boarded a Kishoreganj-bound Sharnalata Paribahan bus to spend the first day of Ramadan with her family.

Here too, once all other passengers got off at their respective stops, the bus driver and his assistant gang-raped Shahinur, and pushed her off the running bus.

Locals rescued her in critical condition and took her to Katiadi Hospital where the on-duty physician declared her dead.

Both the driver Nuruzzaman Nuru and his assistant Lalon Mia confessed in court and were sent to jail afterwards.