United News of Bangladesh

A court in Thakurgaon has sent a woman to jail after police and the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), in separate investigations, found a rape case she filed in Baliadangi upazila to be false and fabricated. Judge Md Abdul Hamid of the Thakurgaon Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal passed the order on Sunday, rejecting the bail petition of Labli Akter, 28. According to court sources, Labli, of Uttar Pariya (Nitaldoba) village in Baliadangi, had filed a case under Section 9(1) of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, accusing Md Saddam Hossain, 32, of the same area of rape. In her complaint, she alleged that Saddam had raped her by force on March 14, 2025, when he found her alone in a cornfield belonging to Nurul Islam. Baliadangi Police initially investigated the allegation and submitted a report saying the case was false and fabricated. The report said the case had allegedly been brought by a group with a grudge against Saddam to humiliate him socially and cause him financial loss. Labli later filed a formal objection, known as a naraji petition, challenging the police report. Following this, the tribunal ordered Thakurgaon PBI to conduct a further investigation. The PBI also concluded that the allegation was false, baseless, and fabricated. The tribunal subsequently accepted the PBI report and acquitted Saddam of the charge. At the same time, the court took cognisance of an offence against Labli under Section 17(1) of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, for allegedly filing a false case, and issued an arrest warrant for her. Labli surrendered before the court on Sunday and sought bail. After hearing both sides, the court rejected her bail petition and ordered that she be sent to jail.