Police have arrested three persons, including a mother-daughter duo, for allegedly plotting a gang rape at Madhukhali Upazila of Faridpur.

The arrestees are Rozina, her mother Parul Aktar and one Zakirul Haque.

On Tuesday night, the victim’s father filed a case against the trio and accused several other anonymous people of human trafficking and rape.

The victim recently came to her father’s home at Madhukhali from her husband’s village. On Sunday, her friend Rozina came to visit her.

After an argument with the victim, Rozina with her mother and some men abducted her from her father’s house that afternoon.

Also read: Rape epidemic: 2 held over gang-rape of Pabna woman

The victim said they took her to different places, drugged her and had her raped several times.

They dropped her in front of her father’s home on Tuesday morning after her condition deteriorated.

Her father said the victim’s condition has improved. She is currently being treated at the One-Stop Crisis Centre of Faridpur Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital.

Madhukhali Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge Rathindra Nath Tarafdar said Zakirul was arrested in a drive on Tuesday night after the arrest of Rozina and Parul.

The women are residents of Modhukhali Asrayan centre. Zakirul, hailing from Gopalganj, was a contractual worker at the Madhukhali Sugar Mill, said police.

Also read: Housewife ‘gang-raped’ in Patuakhali

OC Rathindra Nath said the court had sent the three accused to jail. The other accused will be arrested after getting the victim’s statement.
 
Rape becoming a regular crime

Rape incidents continue to take place even after the government amended the law making death penalty the highest punishment for the crime.

Last month, a police headquarters report said 26,695 rape cases had been filed across the country in the last five years.

Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) data show that 1,018 children were raped last year, but only 683 police cases were filed. Also, 116 victims were 6 years old or below.

Overall, 1,627 rape cases were reported last year and 53 of the victims were killed by the perpetrators while 14 took their own lives, the data showed.

Also read: Police HQ: 26,695 rape cases filed in 5 yrs, with notable jump since 2019

The original number is believed to be higher as most victims don’t report incidents of sexual assault fearing for their safety and social stigmatisation.

Following days of protests against sexual violence against women across Bangladesh, the government introduced death penalty for rape in October last year. In November, the Parliament passed the necessary amendment.