Police have arrested three men in connection with the alleged gang rape of a 14-year-old sixth-form student in Kamalganj, Moulvibazar, after she was allegedly lured away through a romantic relationship and held captive for five days.
The arrests were made in the early hours of Monday, 21 September, following a case filed by the girl’s father. The main accused, however, remains at large. The victim is currently receiving treatment in hospital.
The three arrested suspects have been identified as Md Jahed Ahmed, 24, of Hasanpur village in Chandnighat Union of Moulvibazar Sadar; Raju Ahmed, 22, of Kharpara village in Rajnagar; and Jubel Mia, 30, of Bahadurpur village in the same upazila. Another accused, identified as Kabir, 30, a resident of the Rajnagar Hospital area, remains absconding.
According to the case statement, the victim became acquainted with Jahed Ahmed through mobile phone conversations, and the two subsequently developed what was described as a romantic relationship. On the afternoon of 12 September, Jahed allegedly persuaded the girl to leave her home.
She was then allegedly taken from Chandnighat in Moulvibazar town to Bahadurpur in Rajnagar in a CNG-run auto-rickshaw. The case statement alleges that she was taken to the home of accused Jubel Mia, where she was allegedly threatened and subjected to sexual violence throughout the night by Jahed and his associates.
The allegations did not end there. According to the complaint, the girl was subsequently kept at Jahed’s home from 13 to 17 September, where she was allegedly subjected to further abuse. After several days of alleged confinement and violence, she reportedly became seriously ill.
On the morning of 17 September, the accused allegedly left her beside an isolated road in Rahimpur Union of Kamalganj and fled. Local people later found her and informed her family. Relatives rescued her from the roadside and took her to hospital, where she remains under treatment.
Following the incident, the girl’s father filed a case at Kamalganj Police Station naming four people as accused. Police subsequently launched operations in several areas to locate those named in the complaint.
Three of the accused were arrested from separate locations in the early hours of 21 September, police said. They were later taken into custody and produced before a court.
Kamalganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Komor Uddin confirmed the arrests and said efforts were continuing to locate Kabir, the remaining accused. Police have said the investigation is continuing and that the allegations against the suspects will be examined through the legal process.
The case has drawn attention to the vulnerability of minors who can be targeted through online or mobile-phone relationships and then subjected to coercion or exploitation. In this case, the victim was a school student and was allegedly kept away from her family for several days before being abandoned in an isolated location.
The three arrested suspects have been sent before the court, while police continue their search for the absconding accused. The allegations remain subject to investigation and judicial proceedings.
