In a grisly turn of events, a 14-year-old girl was gang-raped at her house in Neyatomo village of Lakshmipur's Ramgati upazila, while her parents helplessly watched as they had been tied-up by the culprits, locals said.
The incident follows in the wake of countrywide protests over a recent surge in rape incidents. The protests were sparked by two gang-rapes in September – A gang-rape in Noakhali on September 2 and the Sylhet MC College gang-rape incident on September 25.
According to police and locals, the teenager was with her parents on Sunday night. In the early hours of Monday, a group of men broke into the house and tied-up the parents.
The criminals took turns raping and beating the girl in front of her parents, before looting the house of all valuables and fleeing the scene. Neighbours arrived shortly afterwards.
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The teenager, who is also a child bride, was initially admitted to Ramgati Upazila Health Complex and then shifted to Lakshmipur Sadar Hospital when her condition deteriorated.
Ramgati police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Solaiman said the girl is in critical condition and one person has been arrested on suspicion of being involved in the heinous crime. The suspect was identified as Miraj.
“The victim’s family is in the process of filing a case. The culprits will be brought to book after an investigation,” the OC added.
There have been at least 1,236 rapes and 303 gang-rapes from January to November this year, according to civil rights organization Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK).
Of the 1,546 victims, 51 were murdered after the crime and 14 others committed suicide.
