Says investigation officer
Bithi Akter Eva, the 18-year-old arrested for abetting the gang rape of a teenage girl in Madhupur, has admitted handing over the victim to the rapists.
Bithi and four other accused — Nuruzzaman alias Gada, 42, Shajahan Ali, 40, Moniruzzaman Moni, 39, and Harunur Rashid Harun, 27, — were arrested on December 31.
She was sent to Tangail District Jail yesterday on completion of her one-day remand.
Bithi told police that she along with the victim was at Nuruzzaman’s house in Bokarbaid village of Madhupur on December 6 night, Mozibor Rahman, investigation officer of the gang rape case, said.
Bithi, who had previous connection with the four, took the girl to a video shoot in Madhupur on December 6, promising her a role in a drama.
After the shooting at Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation, the two came to Nuruzzaman’s.
“As per the plan, Nuruzzaman had sent his wife and children to somewhere else. He along with the three others raped the girl while Bithi was present in the house that night.”
On December 7, Bithi took the victim to her house in Mohela village of Kalihati the following day. Spending two days with her, the 15-year-old left alone for home, some three kilometres away.
Mozibor, also officer-in-charge of Madhupur Police Station, said, “Interrogating the five, we found some surprising facts about the incident. But we cannot disclose those now for the sake of probe.”
Talking to The Daily Star, Bithi’s mother Bedana Begum said the girl came with her daughter from Madhupur around 3:00pm on December 7, stayed at her house until around 9:00am on December 9.
Fifteen days later, Bithi went to the girl’s place to talk about a shooting scheduled for the next day.
Later in the day, she called her uncle over mobile phone to say that she had been kept confined to the house and the girl’s family members were beating her.
“Informed, I along with my younger brother and his brother-in-law went to the house. The brother of the girl and his men beat us up too,” Bedana said.
“They demanded Tk 1 lakh from us and threatened that if we failed to give the money, they will hand over Bithi to police.
“Later, they freed my brother and his brother-in-law. My brother returned around 3:00am with Tk 10,000 and handed over the money to the family in presence of local community leaders.
“We apologised to the family for what happened to the girl. Later at night, they freed us,” she added.
Contacted, the victim’s brother outright rejected Bedana Begum’s version and said they want sever punishment to the violators and the abettor.
-With The Daily Star input
