Villagers in in Badarganj upazila of Rangpur on Thursday allegedly tortured a woman and cut off her hair moments after she had narrowly escaped being raped by a stalker.

The victim, a mother of two, filed a case on Friday accusing 18 people. Police have already arrested four of the accused.

The 27-year-old Hindu woman hails from Mostafapur village under Damadarpur union of Badarganj upazila in Rangpur. The wife of a brickfield worker, she supported her family by collecting red spinach from her village and selling those at Champatoli market.

According to her, Mominul Haq, 30, son of Khademul Islam of the same village, has been stalking her for sometime. He often harassed her on her way to the market.

On Thursday, Mominul managed to enter the woman's house when no one else was present and attempted to rape her. However, her screams for help brought villagers to her door and Mominul managed to flee the scene.

Then the villagers turned on her. They called her a 'characterless woman' and beat her up mercilessly and also tore up the clothes she was wearing. They did not stop at that proceeding to cut off her hair and wiping off the vermillion Hindu married women wear on their hair parting.

According to the victim, the villagers and Mominul Haq are still spreading rumours against her.

She demanded immediate arrest of Mominul, saying “I pleaded for their mercy during the attack but they would not listen to me. Now they are blaming me and questioning my character,” she said.

Azizul Haque, chairman of Damadarpur union, confirmed the incident.

Akhtaruzzaman Prodhan, officer-in-charge of Badarganj Police Station said that the victim filed a case naming Mominul Islam as the key accused in the case.

The police have so far arrested  Kishori Mohan, 60 and his wife Surjo Bala, 50, and Molin Chandra Roy, 40, and his wife Jotika Rani Roy, 32.

They are trying to arrest the others accused in the case, Prodhan said.