In Gafargaon, Mymensingh, angry local residents vandalised the house of Sharif, the main accused in a case filed over the alleged gang rape of a woman after her ninth-grade son was held hostage at gunpoint.
The incident took place around 9:30am on Tuesday (September 22) at the house of the main accused, Sharif, in Gafargaon. The alleged rape took place at the victim’s house at around 8pm last Thursday (September 17). The following night, Friday (September 18), the victim herself filed a case with Gafargaon Police Station, accusing five people.
According to the case statement and police sources, the woman’s husband is an expatriate worker. On Thursday night, five young men went to the door of their house on the pretext of asking for water and an axe. When the expatriate’s ninth-grade son came to the door with water, the accused held him hostage at gunpoint. The accused then entered the house and allegedly gang-raped the woman.
They also allegedly recorded the incident and demanded money from the victim’s family, threatening to spread the video on social media.
Five people were named as accused in the case filed by the victim. They are—Sharif, 23, of Gafargaon; his brother Arif, 21; Fahim, 22; Rajib, 23; and Enamul, 22.
Following the filing of the case, police arrested one of the accused, Rajib, on the night of the incident. However, the other four, including main accused Sharif, are still absconding.
Meanwhile, local residents held meetings on Sunday and Monday evening to discuss the incident, ensure a fair investigation and decide what should be done next.
Later, on Tuesday morning, angry local residents went to the house of main accused Sharif and vandalised the tin walls and roof of the house. They removed the tin sheets and piled them up beside the house. However, before the vandalism took place, the family members of the accused and their belongings had already been moved to a safe place.
Police were quickly sent to the scene after receiving information about the vandalism.
Gafargaon Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Moniruzzaman Sheikh said local residents had been advised not to take the law into their own hands. He also urged them to provide police with information about the whereabouts of the absconding accused.
Meanwhile, several police teams are conducting raids to arrest the remaining four accused as soon as possible.
