Police have arrested three people, including a bus driver and his helper, in connection with the gang rape of a college student on the Dhaka–Tangail highway.
The arrests were made on Thursday afternoon from the Kartia underpass area of Tangail Sadar upazila on the Dhaka–Tangail highway. The arrested men have been identified as bus driver Md Altaf (25), helper Md Sagar (24), and the driver’s associate Md Rabbi (21).
According to Elenga Highway Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Sharif, the incident took place at around 11:30 pm on Wednesday. The 26-year-old victim, a student of the Department of Philosophy at Mirpur Government Bangla College, boarded a Savar Paribahan bus from Radio Colony in Dhaka with the intention of travelling to Ashulia. At the time, there were two other passengers on board.
After the other passengers disembarked, the accused allegedly confined the student inside the bus. They reportedly snatched her gold ornaments, cash and mobile phone before driving the vehicle around different locations throughout the night. During this period, the woman was allegedly gang-raped by the accused, who also recorded videos of the assault.
In the early hours, the bus was found standing in a suspicious manner on the Dhaka-bound lane near the Kartia underpass. Highway police stopped the vehicle and, upon questioning those inside, came to know about the alleged crime.
Officer-in-Charge Md Sharif said that the victim and the arrested men were later handed over to Tangail Sadar Police Station for further legal action. The Officer-in-Charge of Tangail Sadar Police Station confirmed that the victim is preparing to file a case in connection with the incident.
It may be recalled that on 20 May, a robbery took place on an Al Imran Paribahan passenger bus on the Dhaka–Tangail–Jamuna Bridge highway, during which female passengers were also reportedly subjected to harassment, raising serious concerns about passenger safety on the route.
