A bus driver, his assistant and conductor have confessed to making an attempt to rape a schoolgirl in their moving vehicle in Narayanganj’s Siddhirganj upazila, police say.
The trio gave confessional statements under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure during police questioning on Tuesday, Narayanganj’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Harun-or-Rashid told a press briefing in the afternoon.
The accused are Rajanigandha Paribahan bus driver Habibur Rahman, 42, his assistant Solaiman Sardar, 18, and conductor Joy Matubbor, 19.
Siddhirganj police station Sub-Inspector Shamsul Alam recorded their statements during questioning, after the victim’s father filed a case against the trio under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act at the station on Tuesday.
Quoting witnesses and the victim, SP Harun said the 10th grader had boarded the bus from the Sanarpar Mouchak bus stand on Monday evening to get to Chittagong Road.
He said the girl was left alone in bus when other passengers got off as the vehicle was stuck in a traffic jam at Dutch-Bangla Intersection on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway.
Using the opportunity, Soleman and Joy sexually assaulted her and attempted to rape her at the time, while driver Habibur kept the bus moving ignoring the girl’s pleas for mercy, added SP Harun.
However, locals stopped the bus and rushed to the girl’s rescue after hearing her cries for help. After rescuing her, the mob beat up the trio and later handed them over to the police.
Police also impounded the bus afterwards.