A 30-year-old mentally challenged woman was gang-raped in the Banglabandha land port area of Tentulia upazila in Panchagarh early Wednesday.
Police arrested four people, including a truck driver, in connection with the incident on Wednesday morning. They were produced before a court at night, which ordered them to be sent to jail.
The arrestees are truck driver Sohel Sheikh, 32, of Chadina–Shibganj Dakshinpara in Bogra’s Shibganj upazila; his helper Mostafa Hanif, 21, of Bhagdah; Hasan, 20, of Manikchak–Uttarpara in Bogra Sadar; and Rajibul Islam, 19, of Namuja–Bhandaripara in the same upazila.
According to police and locals, the woman was raped behind a shop opposite the main gate of Banglabandha land port early in the morning.
Security personnel and locals apprehended the suspects at the scene and handed them over to village police, who later transferred them to Tentulia Model police station.
Locals said the woman had been wandering around the land port area for more than six months. Though she can speak, she has been unable to provide her name or address.
She was taken to Panchagarh Modern Sadar Hospital for a medical examination. Later, Banglabandha Union Parishad village police member Md Habibullah filed a case against the four men.
Md Bulbul, member of Ward 1 of Banglabandha UP, said the woman had been living by the roadside for some time. “The driver and his aides brought the truck to the port and raped her at night,” he said.
Tentulia Model police station Sub-Inspector Asaduzzaman said the court had ordered the four to be sent to jail.
“The survivor’s health condition is being assessed. We are also seeking assistance from the CID and PBI to identify her,” he added.