2 men sent to jail over rape of Marma girl
Our Correspondent, Bandarban Sat Oct 19, 2024 12:00 AM
Two men were sent to jail yesterday on charges of raping a 14-year-old Marma girl in Bandarban’s Naikhongchhari upazila.
The accused are Md Selim, 23, and Motiur Rahman, 25, residents of the upazila.
Senior Judicial Magistrate Md Nurul Hoque of Bandarban passed the order after they were produced before the court.
The alleged incident took place around 6:00pm on Thursday in the Sadhu Ong Para area, according to the statement of the case filed by the girl’s brother.
The plaintiff told The Daily Star that his sister had gone to fetch water from Baishari canal around 5:30pm, when most villagers were busy with preparations for Moha-Probarona, a major religious festival of the local Buddhist community.
“My sister went alone to the canal to collect water and bathe. The two men followed her. Motiur stood guard, while Selim grabbed my sister, dragged her into a bamboo grove, and raped her,” he said.
“My sister has difficulties speaking. She also doesn’t speak Bangla.”
Noticing her delay in returning home, the family began searching for her. “We found her crying in the bamboo grove near the canal. She said Selim had raped her and fled.”
Police collected the victim’s clothes as evidence, said Mohammad Mashrurur, officer-in-charge of Naikhongchhari Police Station.
“At 12:25am [on Friday], the brother and the villagers brought Motiur to the police station, and we registered a case against Selim and Motiur,” said the OC.
During primary interrogation, Motiur confessed to the crime. Selim was arrested later, he added.
