Police identified the arrestee as Abul Hossain, 25, son of Shoulpara Union’s Abdul Jabbar Bhuiyan. He has obtained an MA from Dhaka University and was scheduled to take part in the 41st Bangladesh Civil Service exam.

Abul had a six-month affair with the 17-year-old victim. He had sexually exploited the girl with a promise to marry her, according to case details and police sources.

The victim asked Abul to marry her when she got pregnant but the youth forced her to take a pill that terminated her pregnancy.

Also read: Don’t reveal identities of sexual harassment, rape victims: HC

Abul asked the victim to meet him at his home on the night of March 14 and raped her there. The victim informed her family of her ordeal.

Police arrested the youth after the victim’s father filed a rape case against him. 

Palong Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge Aslam Uddin said the girl had been sent to a hospital for medical test.

“We’ll take necessary legal steps,” he said.

Also read: Bangladesh introduces death penalty for rape

Rapes in Bangladesh

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

The toughest penalty could not deter occurrence of rape incidents. 

Data compiled by rights group Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) show that 1,018 children were raped last year alone, but only 683 police cases were filed. Among them, 116 victims were 6 years old or below.

Also read: Death penalty fails to deter rapes

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

In November last, Bangladesh introduced the death penalty for rape, following days of protests against sexual violence against women.

In October last, the country was rocked by protests after a woman was attacked and raped in Noakhali. In another case in Sylhet a week later, a woman was gang raped at a hostel, triggering nationwide protests again.