A court in Tangail has sentenced three men, including a bus driver and his assistant, to life imprisonment for raping a female passenger on a moving bus on the Dhaka-Tangail highway on January 14.
Tangail Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge ANM Ilias delivered the verdict on Sunday afternoon. The convicts were also fined Tk2 lakh each, with an additional year of simple imprisonment if they fail to pay.
The convicts are bus driver Md Altaf, 25, son of Abdur Rob of Nanderai village in Chirirbandar upazila, Dinajpur; his assistant Md Robbi, 21, son of Khokon Mia of Shibpur village in Jamalganj upazila, Sunamganj; and bus conductor Sagar alias Sajib Matubbar, 24, son of Chunnu Matubbar of Chandar Hat Bazar in Nagarkanda upazila, Faridpur.
Public Prosecutor Omaraw Khan Dipu of the tribunal said the woman boarded a Savar Paribahan bus from Dhaka at around 11:45pm on January 14, intending to travel to Ashulia.
Other passengers got off at various stops along the way. The three men then allegedly raped her in succession on the moving bus. They also threatened her and took her earrings, Tk36,000 in cash and a mobile phone before driving around the Dhaka-Tangail highway.
The following day, the bus stopped near the Kortia underpass in Tangail Sadar upazila. The woman reported the incident to highway police patrolling the area.
Highway police later handed the bus and the three accused over to Tangail Sadar police. The woman filed a rape case against them at Tangail Sadar police station that day.
Inspector (Investigation) Victor Banerjee of Tangail Sadar police station investigated the case and submitted a charge sheet to the court on April 29.
After recording testimony from 15 witnesses, the court delivered its verdict. The convicts were subsequently sent to Tangail District Jail.
