Bangladeshi Youth Accused of Abducting and Raping Cousin in Hatiya

A young woman has allegedly been abducted at knifepoint and repeatedly assaulted by her cousin in the remote island upazila of Hatiya, under the Noakhali district. The incident has triggered widespread local outrage, particularly after the victim’s family faced a violent retributory attack for seeking legal recourse. Law enforcement officials confirmed that separate criminal cases have been registered regarding both the assault and the initial abduction.

Mohammad Kabir Hossain, the officer-in-charge (OC) of the Hatiya Police Station, confirmed the development on Saturday, 27 June. The principal suspect has been identified as 22-year-old Sakib Uddin, a resident of Madhya Sonadia village within the Sonadia union of the upazila. The victim is reported to be his direct maternal cousin.

Abduction from Rural Highway and Confined Assault

According to the official case statements, the victim’s family permanently resides in the port city of Chittagong but had travelled back to their ancestral village on 2 June for a family holiday. On the afternoon of 5 June, the teenage girl was walking home from her elder sister’s paternal house, accompanied by another cousin. During the journey, Sakib intercepted the pair on a motorcycle, forced the victim onto the vehicle, and sped away from the scene.

The complaint details that the victim was taken to an isolated location where she was subjected to multiple sexual assaults under explicit threats to her life. Her companion managed to return home safely to alert family members, who initiated a frantic search across the sub-district. The victim was eventually discovered locked inside the suspect’s family residence. She was immediately rescued and admitted to the Hatiya Upazila Health Complex to receive emergency medical care for her physical trauma.

Retaliatory Armed Attack on Victim’s Family

The victim’s father stated that before approaching law enforcement, he attempted to settle the matter socially by demanding a community tribunal from the suspect’s parents and local village elders. Met with complete indifference, he formally filed a statutory rape case at the Hatiya Police Station.

The decision to pursue legal action resulted in immediate intimidation from the suspect’s extended family. On 16 June, a group comprising Sakib’s relatives and hired external miscreants launched an armed raid on the victim’s family home. The assailants used blunt weapons to assault the occupants, leaving the victim’s parents, aunt, uncle, and a young child with severe injuries. The wounded family members required formal hospital treatment, leading to the filing of a second, independent criminal case regarding the armed trespass and battery.

Local residents, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that Sakib has a history of disorderly and anti-social behaviour in the Sonadia union. They revealed that previous allegations of harassment had been brought against him, but local political patrons consistently shielded him from administrative consequences.

The suspect’s mobile network connection has been deactivated since the launch of the police investigation, and he remains at large. OC Mohammad Kabir Hossain reiterated that multiple police teams are actively conducting raids across the region to apprehend Sakib and his accomplices, promising a rigorous and transparent investigation into both interconnected crimes.