Two Detained After Rape Threat on Bus

A disturbing incident aboard a Victor Classic passenger bus in Tongi, Gazipur, has triggered widespread concern over women’s safety on public transport. A bus driver has been accused of issuing rape threats to a female passenger during a journey, while another passenger who protested the abuse was later brutally assaulted. Following the incident, police detained two individuals and seized the vehicle.

The matter was confirmed on Saturday (3 January) by Mohammad Shahin Khan, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of West Tongi Police Station. According to the OC, the driver and his assistant were taken into custody on the day of the incident. “During preliminary interrogation, both individuals admitted to the events as described in the complaint. The bus has been confiscated, and legal proceedings are under way in accordance with the law,” he said.

Based on the victim’s formal complaint, the incident occurred on 1 January, when the wife of Md Naim Islam, a student from the 16th batch of the History Department at Jagannath University, boarded a Victor Classic bus from the Uttara BNS area en route to Hossain Market in Tongi. She was seated in the reserved women’s seat next to the driver.

The complaint alleges that after the woman identified herself as a member of a university student’s family, the driver began making provocative and obscene remarks. As the bus approached the traffic police box near Safiuddin Government Academy, Naim Islam attempted to record the situation on his mobile phone. At this point, the driver allegedly shoved him against the window and threw his phone to the floor.

Tensions escalated further when the woman requested that the bus be stopped near the police box. The driver reportedly refused. When she began shouting for help, the driver allegedly threatened to rape her inside the bus—a claim that has shocked the local community and drawn sharp condemnation.

A fellow passenger, identified as Nurnabi, intervened in protest. This led to a physical altercation involving the driver, his assistant, and several passengers. Eventually, the bus was stopped at Hossain Market, where other passengers helped the woman disembark safely.

However, the ordeal did not end there. According to the complaint, after most passengers had left, Nurnabi was attacked with iron rods by the driver, his assistant, and another individual. He sustained serious injuries and required medical attention.

Local residents later helped intercept the bus. While the main driver and his assistant initially fled the scene, another driver was detained and handed over to the police.

Md Naim Islam subsequently filed a case at West Tongi Police Station, accusing the suspects of issuing rape threats and attempting murder. He further alleged that around 3:30 a.m., representatives of a bus owners’ association—numbering between 15 and 20—arrived at the police station and attempted to intimidate him into withdrawing the case.

He also claimed that the accused driver had been released on bail just four days earlier in connection with a narcotics case filed at Uttara East Police Station.

The incident has reignited urgent debate about passenger safety, accountability within the transport sector, and the protection of women in Bangladesh’s public transit system.

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