Police today were unable to produce the main accused in a case filed over the rape of an eight-year-old girl in Magura before the court due to security concerns.

As a result, the scheduled remand hearing could not take place.

According to police, a crowd had gathered and blocked the main gate of the court, making it risky to produce the accused before the judge.

Earlier in the day, students from Magura Government Hossain Shaheed Suhrawardy College staged a procession around 11:00am, demanding exemplary punishment for the accused.

They later gathered in front of the main gate of the Magura Chief Judicial Magistrate Court and continued their protest. Following assurances from the army, they left the court premises around 2:30pm and moved to block the Dhaka-Khulna highway at the Bhayna intersection.

The investigating officer stated that the victim's sister's father-in-law, the main accused in the case, was arrested on Thursday. Since no case had been filed at the time, he was detained under Section 54. He was later sent to jail on Friday.

On Saturday, the victim's mother filed a case against the victim's sister's father-in-law, mother-in-law, husband, and brother-in-law.

Magura Sadar Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Md Alauddin, also the investigation officer, confirmed that all four accused are currently in jail.

The police have prepared a seven-day remand application for their interrogation. However, the remand hearing could not be conducted due to security concerns, he added.

According to the case statement, the child was raped last Wednesday night while visiting her sister's in-laws' house in Magura municipality.

She was found unconscious and taken to a local hospital on Thursday.

Later, she was transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and subsequently shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in the capital for advanced treatment.