Massive protests rock Bangladesh after Hindu woman raped by politician

Dhaka: A rape in Bangladesh's Cumilla district sparked nationwide outrage in Bangladesh. The video of the assault and rape of the Hindu woman went viral on social media, sparking massive protests across the country. Students of Dhaka University organised massive protests in the capital and demanded "direct action" against the perpetrators.

The rape took place on June 26, when the survivor was at her parental home in Cumilla. She was raped here by a local politician. The matter however came to light only when a video of the 21-year-old survivor, who was stripped naked and assaulted by her perpetrators. she was seen pleading with them to spare her, but they continued to beat her up.

Also Read

The Epstein Files probe: Bill and Hillary Clinton agree to testify before Congress, slam Committee for "partisan-politics"

Man extracts 191 grams of gold from old SIM cards, wows internet

Baloch rebels kill over 80 Pakistani troops, take 18 hostage

The Police have arrested 5 people including the main accused in the case. The main culprit has been identified as 36-year-old Fazor Ali, who is a local politician.

NDTV quoted Cumilla district's police chief, Nazir Ahmed Khan as saying that the main accused was arrested in a pre-dawn raid at Dhaka's Sayedabad area. The police have also apprehended 4 other accused in the case, who allegedly revealed the identity of the woman on social media.

The police said that the survivor's husband works in Dubai and she was visiting her parents in Cumilla. Her children accompanied her to her maternal home to celebrate the festival of Hari Seva.

On June 26, Ali, who belongs to Ramchandrapur Pachkitta village, broke into the woman's house and assaulted her. The locals apprehended him and beat him up. But instead of handing him over to the police, they took him to a hospital. The man reportedly fled from the hospital. Local media reported that the police caught him only after the video went viral.

Students of Dhaka University staged marches on the campus condemning the incident. Students of Jagannath Hall dormitory, which is a hostel dedicated to the minority students, took out processions calling for justice for the survivors.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party of former leader Khaleda Zia demanded exemplary action against the accused. The High Court of the country meanwhile has directed the authorities to immediately remove the video of the assault from all social media platforms. The bench also asked the police to provide protection to the survivor and provide her necessary medical aid.

Add TV9 English As A Trusted Source

The Yunus-led interim government in the country also came under attack from the son of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed. Wazed took to social media platform, 'X' to express outrage over the incident. He blamed the Yunus government for the rise in cases of mob attacks, terror and rapes in the last 11 months.

Bangladesh has seen several incidents of violence against people belonging to the minority community, ever since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government last year. The Awami League government fell in August 2024 and Hasina fled to India. The government fell after a student-led protest in the country. The protests were led by a group called Students against Discrimination.