Five of seven men accused of gang-raping the wife of a Saudi Arabian expatriate in two instances have been arrested in Barisal's Gournadi upazila on Sunday afternoon.
The case of the incident which took place around 1:30pm on Saturday in the Sarikal area of the upazila was lodged on early Sunday.
The accused in the case are Yasin Molla, 20, Shishir Hawladar, 22, Rezaul Bepari, 19, Palash Mir, 57, Jihad Mridha, 20, Hriday Chowkidar, 19 and Salman Shikder, 19.
Among the arrested are Yasin Molla, Shishir Hawlader, Salman Shikder, Rezaul Bepari, and Palash Mir, all from the Sarikal area.
Confirming the matter, Gournadi police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Afzal Hossain said the rape survivor was sent to Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital for medical examinations.
“The arrested suspects have been taken to court for their confessional statements to be recorded. Efforts to apprehend the other two suspects are ongoing,” he added.
Sub-Inspector (SI) Forkan, also the investigation officer of the case, revealed that the 20-year-old rape survivor was attacked while returning home from visiting a relative in Sarikal on Saturday afternoon.
The accused, who were idling in a shop near a local school, forcibly abducted her to a location behind the shop, and raped her.
They later demanded Tk20,000 from her relative, seized her mobile phone, and sent her to Palash's house to collect the money. There, she was raped for a second time.
SI Forkan reported that upon receiving information from neighbouring sources, he rushed to the scene and rescued her.
Later, five individuals were arrested on Sunday, who were subsequently handed over to Gournadi police station, he added.