Staff Correspondent
A serious allegation of gang rape has been made against the general secretary of the Jubo Dal’s Ramnagar Union unit in Jashore. A 21-year-old woman was allegedly drugged by having a substance that caused loss of consciousness mixed into a drink before being gang-raped at Kuada Bazar in Jashore Sadar Upazila. There are also allegations that, in an attempt to suppress the incident, the woman was secretly removed from hospital and that her family was threatened.
According to the complaint, the victim is the daughter of Hafizur Rahman of Tuniyaghora village in Monirampur Upazila. She had reportedly been in a romantic relationship with Dalim Hossain, 35, general secretary of the Ramnagar Union unit of the Jubo Dal.
The complaint states that on the evening of 25 August, Dalim allegedly called the woman to a restaurant at Kuada Bazar. Shortly after she was given a liquid drink there, she lost consciousness. When she regained consciousness at around 11pm, she allegedly found herself naked and realised that she had been gang-raped and sexually assaulted.
The accused allegedly threatened her with the dissemination of objectionable photographs on social media if she disclosed the incident to anyone. The other individuals named in the complaint are Joy, 24; Mehdi, 30; Rabiul, 35; and Golam, 27.
Following the alleged incident, the woman was admitted to Jashore General Hospital on 28 August in a serious condition. However, amid concerns that details of the incident might become known to the media, she was allegedly taken to a house in Khulna in the early hours of 29 August for further treatment without being formally discharged from the hospital.
The complaint further alleges that police have so far been slow to take effective action because the principal accused is politically influential. With the victim’s family reportedly fearing for their safety, they have been reluctant to speak publicly about the incident. The mobile phone number reportedly belonging to the young woman has also been found switched off.
Attempts were made several times to contact the victim’s father, Hafizur Rahman, and the officer-in-charge of Kotwali Model Police Station for their comments on the allegations. However, neither provided a statement.
Meanwhile, local residents have called for the immediate arrest of those allegedly involved in the brutal incident and for adequate security to be provided to the victim and her family.
