Prime suspect Fazor, 4 others held in Muradnagar rape

A nude video of the victim was shared on social media, drawing widespread criticism at home and abroad

Police have arrested Fazor Ali, the prime suspect in the widely-discussed rape case in Cumilla’s Muradnagar.

He was arrested from Dhaka’s Sayedabad area early on Saturday morning, according to Nazir Ahmed Khan, Cumilla district superintendent of police.

Nazir said that the injured Fazor would be provided treatment according to the law and then presented before a court.

Four others – identified with single names as Anik, Sumon, Ramzan, and Babu – have also been arrested for taking a nude video of the victim and spreading it on Facebook. A separate case will be filed against them over spreading the video.

All five detainees are residents of Muradnagar’s Panchkitta.

The spreading of the video sparked widespread criticism at home and abroad.

Cumilla police said in a statement that Fazor was detained and beaten over allegations of raping an expatriate’s wife at a village in Muradnagar on Thursday. Fazor then fled the area. Some people took a video of the incident and shared it on social media. Police from Muradnagar Police Station eventually arrived on the scene and took “action according to the law”.

Jahidur Rahman, chief of Muradnagar Police Station, said that a Hindu woman had filed a case accusing Fazor on Friday. The plaintiff has undergone a medical test, he added.

The case documents state that the woman had gone to visit her parents’ house a couple of weeks ago. Her parents left the house around 11pm on Thursday. Fazor then entered the house and raped her. Locals then came and beat Fazor, while some of them took a video of the incident and shared it on social media.

The woman says her family became acquainted with Fazor when they borrowed money from him. He had entered the house based on that transaction.