A 22-year-old man identified as Mujahid, also known as Rakib, has been arrested in Sylhet’s Beanibazar in connection with the alleged gang rape of two female dancers after they were lured to a supposed dance programme in Brahmanbaria’s Sarail.
Mujahid, described by investigators as the main accused and alleged organiser of the incident, was arrested during an operation conducted by Special Response Battalion-9 (SRB-9) around midnight on Tuesday. He was traced to Beanibazar, where the security force carried out the raid.
At a press conference at the SRB-9 office in Sylhet on Wednesday, its commander, Additional Deputy Inspector General Sheikh Md Rezaul Karim, said Mujahid was arrested after intelligence-led efforts to establish his whereabouts. He is the son of Angur Mia of Budda village in Sarail upazila.
According to information contained in the case documents, Mujahid allegedly used the pseudonym ‘Rakib’ on Facebook to contact a professional dance troupe. On 8 September, he entered into an agreement with the troupe to arrange a dance performance at a wedding ceremony in Sarail for Tk9,000 and paid Tk2,000 in advance.
The arrangement was allegedly used to bring the victims to Sarail on 10 September. At around noon, a 16-year-old girl and a 19-year-old woman, accompanied by a young male colleague, reached the Sarail World Road intersection as instructed.
The three were allegedly taken from there in a CNG-powered auto-rickshaw by Mujahid and his associates. They were first taken towards the Shahbazpur Bridge area on the Titas River. From there, they were transferred to a motorised boat and taken towards the middle of the river.
According to the case records, three other young men were already waiting on the boat with weapons. The accused allegedly stopped the boat’s engine at an isolated part of the river and held the male companion hostage at knifepoint using locally made weapons.
The two female performers were then allegedly subjected to sexual violence and gang rape by five men between approximately 5pm and 7pm. At around 8pm, the accused allegedly left the victims in muddy water near Bhuiyar Ghat in Nasirnagar upazila before fleeing by boat.
A case was subsequently filed at Sarail Police Station under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act. Local police initially arrested another accused, 19-year-old Shanto Biswas.
Investigators later obtained information about Mujahid from Shanto Biswas, according to the authorities. Acting on that information, an SRB-9 team conducted an operation in Beanibazar and arrested Mujahid, whom investigators identified as the alleged principal planner of the incident.
The authorities said Mujahid acknowledged his involvement during preliminary questioning. Such statements remain part of the investigation and would be subject to the legal process.
At the press conference, SRB-9 commander Sheikh Md Rezaul Karim and Sarail Police Station Officer-in-Charge Abdur Razzak said arrangements were under way to hand Mujahid over to Sarail Police Station.
Joint operations are continuing to locate and arrest the four remaining accused in the case. Investigators are also expected to examine the accounts of those involved, the movements of the victims and accused, and other evidence gathered during the investigation as the legal proceedings progress.
