Two Ansar personnel have been detained over the rape of a housewife who sought safety at Manikganj’s 250-bed General Hospital, police said Monday.
The accused have also been dismissed from the Ansar and Village Defence Party.
The incident occurred late Sunday night on the second floor of the hospital’s new building. The victim is currently receiving treatment in the gynecology department.
Manikganj Sadar Police Officer-in-Charge (Investigation) Aminul Islam confirmed the detention, saying legal proceedings were underway. According to police and the victim’s husband, the woman and her husband were travelling from Narayanganj to their ancestral home in Betila when their battery-operated van broke down near the hospital.
The on-duty Ansar personnel, Shahadat Hossain and Abu Saeed, offered assistance and took the couple inside the hospital. The husband was left on the ground floor while the woman was taken to the second floor and raped.
After the incident, the woman informed her husband, and with local assistance, they filed a complaint at Sadar Police Station. Police interrogated all on-duty Ansar personnel, and upon identification by the victim, the accused were taken into custody.
Manikganj District Police Superintendent Mohammad Sarwar Alam visited the hospital to check on the victim’s condition and confirmed her ongoing treatment. Kamruzzaman, District Commandant of the Ansar and Village Defence Party, said a preliminary investigation confirmed the allegations, leading to the immediate expulsion of the accused.
“This is an extremely heinous and inhuman act. The force does not bear responsibility for individual crimes. We want the accused to receive the maximum punishment,” he said.
Dr Mohammad Bahauddin, supervisor of the hospital, said the victim is receiving medical care and the accused have been handed over to police custody.
