A ninth grader female student was raped several times in Boalmari upazila allegedly by her so-called boyfriend, who committed a criminal act by blackmailing her.
The victim’s mother filed a case of rape and another lawsuit under the Pornography Control Act, 2012 against the alleged rapist on Wednesday night, police confirmed.
However, the accused—Md Omar Faruq Sohan, 22, son of Md Ohiduzzaman of Magura village under Shekhor union of the upazila—could not be arrested as of 8pm on Thursday.
According to the cases, Sohan, a college student, had developed a romantic link with the teenager. At one stage, he tricked her into visiting his house on the night of January 2, alluring her in many ways. He then raped her there and filmed the incident on his mobile phone.
Blackmailing her that he would leak the video, Sohan raped her several more times.
The girl finally revealed the matter to her mother.
When contacted, Boalmari police station Officer-in-Charge Md Nurul Alam said the accused had been on the run—but the police were trying to arrest him.
Rape becoming a regular crime
Rapes continue to take place even after the government has amended the law making the death penalty the highest punishment for the crime.
Last month, a police headquarters report said 26,695 rape cases had been filed across the country in the last five years.
Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) data show that 1,018 children were raped last year, but only 683 police cases were filed. As many as 116 victims were 6 years in age or below.
Overall, 1,627 rape cases were reported last year, while 53 of the victims were killed by the perpetrators and 14 took their own lives, the data showed.
The original number is believed to be higher as most victims do not report incidents of sexual assault fearing for their safety and social stigmatization.
Following days of protests against sexual violence against women across Bangladesh, the government introduced the death penalty for rape in October last year. In November, Parliament passed the necessary amendment. ###
