Five suspects arrested in ‘rape’ of woman in Sylhet’s Kanaighat

Two of the suspects allegedly raped the woman in front of her 9-month-old daughter

Police have arrested five suspects on charges of raping a woman in front of her 9-month-old daughter at Kanaighat in Sylhet.

The incident occurred on Sunday night and the accused persons were arrested in a daylong operation on Monday, said Md Golam Dastagir Ahmed, chief of the local police station.

The arrestees are Dudu Mia, 36, Helal Ahmed, 38, Farhad, 35, Juber Ahmed, 24, and Abdul Karim. Farhad’s full name and Karim’s age could not be obtained.

The victim was admitted to the One Stop Crisis Centre of Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital.

Citing information given by the suspects, the officer said Helal and Farhad raped the woman while the others helped abduct her.

She had met Dudu for the first time around three weeks ago at Kanaighat Upazila Health Complex, where she took her daughter for treatment.

Upon Dudu’s advice, she went out with him on Sunday to see a herbalist for the baby girl.

But Dudu took her to a marketplace and called Karim. Around 10pm, locals stopped them for their suspicious activities.

The locals then tasked Juber, a rickshawpuller, with taking the woman home.

Dudu and Karim started following the rickshaw by a motorcycle and when it reached near a graveyard, Farhad and Helal stopped it.

The woman alleged in the case that Farhad and Helal had dragged her to a nearby pond and violated her on its banks.

After they left, locals rescued her and called police.