Jashore rape: 3 accused remanded

A Jashore court today placed three accused on a three-day remand each in a case filed over raping a woman in Jashore on September 3.

Judge of Senior Judicial magistrate’s court Saifuddin Hossain passed the order after police produced them before the court with the remand prayer, said Sheikh Monayem Hossain, inspector (investigation) of Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) in Jashore.

The people put on remand are Kamruzzaman alias Kamrul, 40, Abdul Latif, 38, and Abdul Quader alias Omar, 47. They are residents of Chatkapota village in Jashore’s Sharsha upazila.

Four people were accused in the case filed by the woman. Police arrested the trio -- Kamrul, Latif and Kader -- and are still looking for the unnamed suspect.

According to the victim, a mother of two, that four people including SI Khairul Islam, in-charge of Gorpara Police Camp under Sharsha Police Station and his informant Kamaruzzaman alias Kamrul went to her house around 2:30am on September 3.

As she opened the door, Khairul told her that he would help get her husband released from jail if she gave him Tk 50,000.

At one stage, the four people raped the woman being angered as she refused to give the money, according to the woman.

On September 3, the victim filed a case against three named people and an unkown person with Sharsha Police Station.

The victim has been claiming that the fourth accused, who was not named in the case statement, is sub-inspector Khairul Alam, in-charge of Gorpara Police Camp under Sharsha Police Station in Jashore.

Though the victim initially alleged that the police officer and his “source” had raped her, senior police officers said Khairul was not named in the case as the victim could not recognise him when he was produced before her on Tuesday night.

The victim a day later claimed that she did not name Khairul fearing the backlash. 

Evidence of rape has been found in the medical test and specimens of the victim and the three accused have already been sent to Criminal Investigation Department in Dhaka for DNA test.

Local police, however, could not say how long it will take to complete the test.

Meanwhile, Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), a specialised investigation unit of police, will start a formal investigation into the case from today.