Prime accused Mamun was involved in drug trade: Rab

Mamunur Rashid Mamun, an accused in raping a woman at Jahangirnagar University, used to sell drugs on the campus and its adjacent areas, says Rapid Action Battalion.

According to Rab, Mamun has been supplying yaba pills to the campus and its nearby areas since 2017. He also catered to various illicit and immoral requests from the "senior students" to continue his drug-related activities.

Mamun was captured from the capital's Farmgate and Murad Hossain, 22, an abettor in the rape and also an assistant secretary of JU BCL was detained on Wednesday, Rab Director (legal and media wing) Commander Khandaker Al Moin told a press briefing at its Media Centre in Dhaka's Karwan Bazar on Thursday.

At the request of JU BCL leader Mostafizur Rahman, 28, the prime accused in the rape case, Mamun allegedly drew up a plan and tricked the woman into entering the campus where he and Mostafizur raped her after confining her husband to dorm room on Saturday night, said the Rab official.

The Rab official told media that Mamun has been involved in drug trade for six to seven years. He used to collect about 7,000 to 8,000 yaba pills every month from Teknaf in Cox's Bazar and sell those to JU students and others.

Eight narcotics-related cases were filed against him earlier and he had been sent to jail for four times.

"Mamun and the victim's husband were neighbours for three or four years. He employed the victim's husband at times to supply drugs to the campus and nearby areas," the Rab official said.

To meet Mostafizur's demand, Mamun tricked the victim into going to the campus near Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall on Saturday, the Rab official added.

As per the plan, Murad confined the victim's husband to room-317. Meantime, Mamun and Mostafizur took the victim to a secluded place near the hall and gang-raped her. Then they asked the victim to go home.

On Sunday, the victim's husband filed a case with Ashulia Police Station under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, accusing six people of raping his wife and abetting the rape.

Later, all the accused in the case were arrested.

The Rab official said the JU authorities cannot avoid the responsibility of several rape and drugs-related crimes on the campus. He said the authorities should be stricter now.

"Many illegal activities take place on the campus. There is a matter of coordination with the law enforcement agencies to prevent those. If they [university authorities] seek help, we will definitely assist," the Rab official said.