4 held over Muradnagar rape incident sent to jail

A Cumilla court has sent four young men to jail in connection with the circulation of a video on social media related to a rape incident in Muradnagar.

On Sunday (June 29) evening, Judge Muminul Haque of Cumilla Chief Judicial Magistrate Court's Amli Court No. 11 ordered their detention in jail.

The four accused are Mohammad Ali Suman, a local leader of the Bangladesh Chhatra League from Baherchar in Muradnagar, along with Ramzan, Md. Arif, and Md. Onik.

Muradnagar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Zahidur Rahman stated that the four were arrested under the Pornography Control Act for allegedly spreading the video. When they were produced before the court, police sought their remand, but the judge set a date for the remand hearing and sent them to jail in the meantime.

The rape incident reportedly occurred in the early hours of Thursday (June 27) in Baherchar Pachkitta village under Muradnagar upazila. The victim, who was staying at her father’s home at the time, was allegedly raped by one Fazor Ali (38), a resident of the same village.

After a video of the assault was circulated on social media, it sparked widespread outrage across the country. The following day, Friday (June 28), the woman filed a rape case at Muradnagar Police Station. She is the wife of a migrant worker in Dubai and the mother of two children.

Following the case, police conducted a raid and arrested both the main rape suspect, Fazor Ali, and the four individuals accused of sharing the video.

However, there are differing views regarding the incident. Some locals claimed that the victim and Fazor Ali were involved in an extramarital affair. Golam Kibria Khokon, chairman of the local union council, confirmed this, saying, “There had long been talk in the community about a relationship between the two.”