Shawdesh Desk:

Several rape incidents took place in the country on Friday despite massive drives launched by the police against sex offenders in the wake of massive demonstrations against rape and other forms of violence against women.

Giving no hoot to laws, rapists continued to victimise women and girls, raising a great concern in the society.

Meanwhile, police carried out drives in different places, arresting 22 people in connection with rape incidents.

Amid the widespread demonstrations against the growing incidents of rape and other forms of violence against women and children, law enforcers went for drastic action against the culprits.

Police arrested some 22 people on charges of rape incidents in different places, including Ashulia in Savar, Sonagazi in Feni, Noakhali, Chandpur, Jashore and Chattogram.

In Chandpur, a 10th grader of Rustompur village in Faridganj upazila, was allegedly raped by her maternal uncle.

Nurul Islam, a sub-inspector of Faridganj Police Station, said Kamrul Islam, 40, son of late Ali Ahmed Mollah of Dakhshin Koroa village in Raipur upazila of Laxmipur, raped the girl two years ago and filmed the scene.

Threatening the girl with making the video viral, Kamrul has violated her several times over the last two years.

On September 25, Kamrul abducted the girl while she was going to a coaching centre and confined her to a house in Raipur of Laxmipur. He reportedly raped her there for 13 days, said the SI.

Following a complaint lodged by the victim’s family, police rescued the girl from the spot on Wednesday night and held Kamrul.

Meanwhile, the victim’s mother filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act with Faridganj Police Station on Thursday.

“Kamrul was shown arrested in the case,” said Mohammad Shahid Hossain, officer-in-charge of the police station.

The girl was sent to Chandpur General Hospital for medical test, the OC added.

In Chattogram, eight people have been arrested for allegedly gang raping a housewife after kidnapping her from Moulvipukur area of Chandgaon in Chattogram.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Bijoy Bosak of Chattogram Metropolitan Police said the victim was returning home by a rickshaw from Bahaddarhat Bus Terminal in the morning.

The miscreants kidnapped her when she reached Moulvipukurpar area and gang-raped her in a nearly building, Bosak said.

In Jashore, a girl was raped allegedly by a bus staff at Jashore Monihar Bus Terminal in the district early Friday.

Salah Uddin Shikder, additional superintendent of Jashore police, said MK Paribahan bus staff Monir had long been in a relationship with the girl from Rajshahi district. The girl came to Jashore Thursday night to meet him.

He then, took the girl to the bus terminal at about 3:15am and raped her.

Sensing the matter, locals caught the accused and handed him over to Kotwali Police Station. The police also detained five others in this connection.

In Noakhali, a youth was arrested at Kabirhat in the district on Thursday on charges of raping a widow.

The arrestee was sent to the district jail Thursday afternoon.

Earlier, police arrested accused Arman Hossain Lalu from village Nabagram at Dhansiri union under Kabirhat upazila Wednesday night.

The 21-year old Lalu is the son of Monir Hossain of village Uttar Jagadananda at Ward No. 4 in Dhansiri union under the upazila.

Police said being the complainant the victim’s brother filed a case with Kabirhat Police Station accusing six persons under the Woman and Child Repression Prevention Act on October 3.The case statement reads that widow lives in her house alone.

At one stage, sex offender Arman paid his attention to the widow. Along with his three accomplices, he went to the victim’s house several months ago. Later at a gunpoint, Arman raped the widow against her will and she became a five-month pregnant.

Kabirhat Police Station’s officer-in-charge (OC) Mirza Mohammad Hasan said police sent the prime accused, Arman, to the district jail after arrest following the filing of a case by the victim’s brother.

In Savar, a 25-year-old housewife was gang-raped several times by the arrestees — Saiful Islam (18), Antar (19), Jotirmoy Saha (20), Pappu Saha (19), and Milon (21), said Inspector (investigation) Ziaul Islam of Ashulia Police Station.

The survivor, who is a resident of Dhaka’s Mirpur, said she came to know Saiful and Antar around one and half months ago over phone. They called her to Ashulia, saying they will lend her some money for her house rent.

After she went to Ashulia from Mirpur on September 23, Saiful and Antar gave her Tk1000. But later, they forcibly took her to an abandoned place where they along with others raped her, she said.

After she returned home, they started threatening her over the phone. They said they will let her husband and others know about the incident if she doesn’t go to see them again.

Scared, the survivor went back to Ashulia and was gang-raped again by the same people, she added.

The rapists, however, continued to blackmail her. At one point she revealed the incidents to her husband who went to police for help last night, she added.

Police arrested the five during a raid in Rustompur area, Inspector Ziaul Islam said.

The others involved are yet to be arrested, he said, adding that a case was being filed in this regard with the police station.

On the other hand, one Helaluddin (57) was arrested for raping a pair of nine-year-old twin girls and another child of the same age on August 6.

The father of the twins, a worker at a garment factory, filed a case with Ashulia Police Station in this regard last night, Inspector Ziaul Islam said.

According to the case statement, the landlord of their house, Helaluddin, lured the three girls to his room, saying he will buy them a bottle of cold drink on the day of the incident when their parents were away at work. He then raped the trio, the inspector said, quoting the survivors’ father.

Police arrested Helal last night from his house in Ashulia, the inspector added.

In another incident, police also arrested a local Awami League leader in Sonagazi upazila of Feni for allegedly raping his 14-year-old niece.

Tomij Uddin Nayan, 50, president of local ward unit of Awami League under Motiganj union, was arrested around 11pm on Thursday.

The arrestee is a cousin of the victim’s father and a wood trader in profession.

Sonagazi police station Officer-in-Charge (OC, investigation) Abdur Rahim Sarker said a police team conducted the drive in Bhadadia village and arrested Nayan after receiving a complaint of the victim’s family.

According to the victim’s family sources, Nayan forcibly took the seventh-grader schoolgirl to his shop when she was going to coaching centre and raped her there on October 1. The girl did not disclose the matter out of fear.

However, she informed her mother about the incident on Thursday morning. The victim’s mother also filed a case with Sonagazi police station over the incident.