Police have arrested two former leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement in connection with the alleged gang rape of a 30-year-old expatriate’s wife in Mohammadpur upazila of Magura district. The incident reportedly took place on Monday night, and the victim filed a case on Tuesday accusing four men of raping her after threatening to circulate a video online. The arrested accused were sent to jail on Wednesday.
The accused named in the case are Md. Sijan Mahmud (20), Nafiz Ahmed (22), Rubel Sheikh (24), and Md. Sumon Sheikh (25), all residents of Balidia Union in Mohammadpur. Police have arrested Sijan Mahmud and Nafiz Ahmed, both of whom were previously listed as members and spokespersons of the Mohammadpur Upazila Committee of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, announced on April 20 last year.
However, Selim, convener of the Magura district unit of the movement, stated that the committee in question was dissolved within two days of its formation and currently holds no validity. He said the two arrested individuals do not hold any organizational position at present.
According to the case statement, the survivor works as a factory laborer. On the night of the incident, she was returning home from work around 10:00 pm when Sijan Mahmud, who was previously acquainted with her, contacted her by phone and met her after she got off a factory vehicle. The other three accused then arrived, and Nafiz Ahmed allegedly recorded a video of the woman standing beside Sijan. Threatening to circulate the video online and among local residents and relatives, the accused allegedly gang-raped her around 11:30 pm and warned her not to disclose the incident.
The investigating officer, the Inspector (Investigation) of Mohammadpur Police Station, said the survivor’s medical examination has been completed and the clothes she wore during the incident have been seized. The victim and the accused will be sent for DNA testing through the court. Police said efforts are ongoing to arrest the remaining two accused, who are currently absconding.
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