Four men were apprehended by the police yesterday in connection with the reported sexual assault of a woman in Chandina upazila of Cumilla. The arrested individuals, identified as Md Ashik, 31, Mehedi Hasan Tarek, 24, Md Arif, 34, and Md Ismail, 37, all hail from Kamarkhola village in Maijkhar union. According to the police, the incident occurred at approximately 1:10 am yesterday in Kamarkhola village while the victim and her husband were en route to a relative’s residence.
The victim and her husband, residents of Barura upazila, had embarked on a battery-operated auto-rickshaw journey to Madarpur village in Chandina around 11:00 pm the previous night. By midnight, the vehicle stopped due to a drained battery near Kamarkhola village, adjacent to Madarpur, prompting the couple to continue on foot.
Upon walking, three young men on a motorcycle intercepted them. The victim’s husband reported that the men were aggressive and later called two more individuals. Subsequently, they forcibly took the woman to a nearby maize field while one of them separated the husband and left him in the dark at a distance.
The husband promptly contacted the national emergency helpline at 999, leading to a police response that resulted in the rescue of his wife. The 27-year-old mother of one recounted to the authorities that she was sexually assaulted by two men in the field.
Chandina Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge (OC) Atikur Rahman disclosed that five individuals were allegedly involved in the incident, with two perpetrating the assault while the others aided in the crime. Four suspects were apprehended by the police at the scene, while one remains at large.
The victim lodged a complaint with Chandina Police Station at 1:30 pm yesterday.
