Indigenous woman raped in Khagrachari

An indigenous woman has allegedly been raped by two men in Ramgarh upazila of Khagrachari.
According to a cousin of the victim, a group of eight to 10 men went to the 40-year-old victim’s house in Patachhara Union, where she and her teenage daughter lived after her husband’s demise eight years ago, around 11:00pm on Thursday.
She said the victim tried to resist the culprits with a machete but failed. Then, she tried to flee with her daughter, but the criminals caught them on the banks of the nearby Pilak canal as they could not cross the canal.
They then dragged her into a nearby banana plantation where two men raped her, the cousin told The Daily Star quoting the victim. Her daughter somehow managed to flee.
A case has been filed regarding the incident with the Ramgarh Police Station.
The Daily Star couldn’t contact the officer-in-charge of Ramgarh Police Station due to network issues.
The district has been badly affected by flash floods due to heavy rain. There was no electricity in parts of Khagrachhari for the last couple of days, reports our correspondent.
A top police official of Khagrachhari district confirmed the developments to this correspondent.
“It may take some time due to bad situation, but we will definitely arrest the culprits and bring them to book,” said the official who requested anonymity as she is yet to get complete information about the incident.
On Friday, a procession was held on the Ramgarh-Dhaka road at Nakapa Bazar, protesting the rape of the woman. They also demanded the arrest and punishment of the culprits.
Pahari Chhatra Parishad (PCP), Democratic Youth Forum (DYF) and Parbatya Nari Sangh organised the procession.
Later at a rally, they alleged that during the Awami League government, many hilly women and girls were raped, but the culprits were not brought to book.