Police yesterday arrested three people in connection with the second gang rape in Noakhali's Kabirhat upazila, but the victim said the arrestees were her relatives and they could not have been involved with the incident in any way.

The arrestees are -- Harun-or-Rashid, Abdur Rab Hossain Manna and Md Selim. All of them are residents of Nabogram village under Dhanshiri union in the upazila.

Among them, Harun is the president of the union unit Chhatra Dal.

“All three are my relatives and arresting them is a conspiracy. Though the miscreants were hiding their faces with masks, I would have been able to recognise my relatives by their voices and body languages,” said the victim while talking to The Daily Star yesterday afternoon.

She claimed that she could identify the prime accused Zakir Hossain Jahir, even though he too was wearing a mask.

Mirza Md Hasan, officer-in-charge of Kabirhat Police Station, however, said police arrested the three as Zakir made a confessional statement before a Noakhali court yesterday, where he named several people including the three.

Asked about the victim's claim, the OC questioned how she could make such a claim whereas the case statement read that she could not recognise anyone except for Zakir.

Asked whether the three arrestees had any political connection, the policeman said he did not know anything in this regard.

Early Saturday, the mother of three was allegedly gang raped. The wife of a BNP activist, who was arrested before the December 30 election, is undergoing treatment at Noakhali General Hospital.

The woman said seven men had broken into her village home around 1:30am while she and her three children were asleep.

Holding the children hostage at knifepoint, the men tied her hands and legs and three of them raped her. The men also took away the valuables from her house, she added.

She recognised one of the alleged rapists and filed a case accusing him and several unnamed people. Police on Saturday arrested Zakir.

Protesting the rape incident, people from all walks of life formed a human chain at Samity Bazar of Kabirhat upazila yesterday morning. The protesters demanded exemplary punishment to the rapists regardless of their political identities and influence.

They also asked not to harass general people with an intention to divert the course of the case into a different direction.

Earlier in late December, a similar gang rape of a woman in Subarnachar upazila in the same district, allegedly for casting her vote for “sheaf of paddy”, the electoral symbol of BNP, sparked outrage across the country.

A ready-made garment worker has allegedly been gang-raped in Savar's Hemayetpur.

The incident came to light yesterday after the girl's family members filed a case with Savar Model Police Station accusing two named and two to three unnamed men.

According to the case statement, the 17-year-old girl went to meet her 22-year-old boyfriend, Rakib, in Hemayetpur's Balurmath area on the occasion of Valentine's Day.

At one point, Sultan, 22, and his two to three cohorts came to the spot, beat up Rakib, and raped the girl, the case statement added.

AFM Sayeed, officer-in-charge of Savar Model Police Station, said they were investigating the incident and trying to arrest the culprits.

Rakib was made prime accused in the case but the victim's brother said Rakib did not rape the girl. “Rakib was made a suspect as he took the girl to the spot on Thursday,” he said.

The girl was sent to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital for medical tests.

The High Court today directed the chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to immediately remove video footage of the gang rape and torture of a woman in Noakhali's Begumganj from social media.

The video footage of the crime, which took place in Joykrishnapur village of Eklashpur union on September 2, went viral on social media recently.  

Today, the HC also asked the BTRC chairman to make a copy of the video before removing it from social media.

Issuing a suo moto (voluntary) rule, the HC ordered the superintendent of police of Noakhali to provide all protections to the victim and her family.

At the same time, the HC formed a three-member committee led by the additional deputy commissioner of Noakhali to conduct an inquiry into any police negligence in recording statements from the victim over the incident.

The two other members of the committee are social service officer of Noakhali and the principal of Chaumuhoni Government SA College.

The committee has been asked to submit the probe report to this court in 15 days.

The HC bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim ordered the officer-in-charge (OC) of Begumganj Police Station to submit a report on the update of the criminal cases filed by the victim in connection with the incident to this court on October 28.

The HC judges also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned of the government to explain in two weeks why they should not be directed to take appropriate legal and departmental action against the officials of Begumganj Police Station, including its OC, for their negligence in saving the victim and taking swift action against the perpetrators.

The home secretary, DC and SP of Noakhali and UNO of Begumganj Upazila and other officials concerned have been made respondents to the rule, Deputy Attorney General Nawroz MR Chowdhury told The Daily Star.       

The HC bench came up with the directives and rule after Supreme Court lawyers ZI Khan Panna and Abdullah Al Mamun placed newspaper reports on the incident before the bench for necessary directives.

The court heard opinions from some lawyers, including Supreme Court Bar Association President AM Amin Uddin, its Secretary Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal, Jyotirmoy Barua, Yadia Zaman,  Jamiul Haque Faisal, Rashida Chowdhury Nilu and Tanjim Al Islam before passing the orders.

Three more accused have been arrested in connection with the latest “gang rape” incident of a mother of six in Noakhali's Subarnachar upazila on Sunday.

The arrestees were identified as Arman, Ramnobel and Raihan, our local correspondent reports quoting Dipak Jyoti Khisha, additional superintendent of police in Noakhali.

With the latest, so far five accused of the case have been arrested.

Meanwhile, police sought seven-day remand for two of the accused who were held earlier. Judge Masfiqul Haque of Noakhali Cognisance Court-2 ordered that the accused Abul Basher and Yousuf Majhi to be sent to jail and the court will hold hearing on the remand plea on Wednesday.

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'Gang rape' again at Subarnachar

Elsewhere, the medical tests of the victim, aged about 48, have been completed, said Syed Mohiuddin Abdul Azim, resident medical officer of Noakhali General Hospital.

But the preparation of the final report may take some time, he added.

A mother of six, aged about 48, was allegedly gang-raped in Noakhali's Subarnachar upazila on Sunday evening over “campaigning for an upazila vice chairman candidate”.

The incident happened barely three months after a mother of four was gang-raped by 10-12 people in the same area allegedly for voting for “sheaf of paddy” in the December 30 national election.

Police arrested two people on Sunday after the victim's husband had filed a case with Char Jabbar Police Station, accusing 12 people, including four unnamed. The arrestees are Abul Basher and Yousuf Majhi, both accused in the case.