A woman has been gang raped while on holiday with her husband and child at the seaside town Cox's Bazar. It has been alleged that this housewife was raped by a gang led by Ashiqul Islam alias Ashiq of Baharchhara. Ashiq had been released from jail on bail just two weeks ago. He is already accused in 16 cases, including murder, mugging, repression of women and children, arms, drugs and more, at the Cox's Bazar sadar model police station.
According to the local people, Ashiq leads a gang of criminals in Cox's Bazar town. They are involved in mugging and other crimes along the sea beach area. They target tourists coming in from outside the district and snatch their money and other valuables. They even commit rape.
Ashiq, along with two of his accomplices Israfil Khuda alias Joy and Mehdi Hasan alias Babu, raped the woman on Wednesday night. Later they locked her up at a resort in Kalatali. A team of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) rescued her from there. RAB identified the three from the resort's CCTV footage.
Case and protest over the rape
The husband of the woman at 8:30pm on Thursday filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act at the Cox's Bazar sadar model police station, against seven persons, naming four of them. Ashiq was made main accused in the case. The other accused are his accomplices Israfil and Mehdi, manager of the resort Riaz Uddin and three unidentified persons. Inspector (investigations) of the police station, Bipul Chandra Dey, confirmed the matter and said that the tourist police would conduct the investigations.
Over the past few years there have been mysterious deaths of several women tourists in hotel rooms. None of these incidents have been brought to book
Bangladesh Mahila Parishad and Sammilito Samajik Andolan have expressed grave concern at the incident of rape at the country's largest tourist hub and have demanded arrest and exemplary punishment of the perpetrators.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, president of the Civil Societies Forum, Cox's Bazar, Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, said that thousands of tourists from home and abroad flock to Cox's Bazar when they get a few days' vacation. Under such circumstances, the law enforcement should be vigilant about the law and order situation.
He questioned how a person accused in 15 or 16 cases could roam around so freely in a tourist area. Just a couple of years ago a female foreign tourist was raped in Cox's Bazar. Over the past few years there have been mysterious deaths of several women tourists in hotel rooms. None of these incidents have been brought to book.
Couple attacked over trifling matter
According to police and RAB sources, on Wednesday morning the woman along with her husband and child came on a visit to Cox's Bazar. They checked into a hotel at Holiday intersection (Jhautala). In the late afternoon they went to the beach at Laboni Point. The woman's husband accidentally bumped into Ashiq while wading in the water. This led to an altercation.
In the evening the couple was returning to the hotel when Ashiq and his accomplices blocked their way in an empty area near the Parjatan golf course. The man was carrying their eight-month baby. A few of the criminals grabbed the man and child and removed them to a nearby spot, while three of them pulled the woman forcibly into a CNG-run auto-rickshaw. They took her to a makeshift tea stall and raped her there. They then took her to a resort, Zia Guest Inn, and locked her up there in a room.
At 1:30am Wednesday night RAB rescued her from there. They detained the guest house manager Reaz Uddin alias Chhoton, 29, from the spot. Reaz is a resident of Maizpara in Eidgaon of Cox's Bazar. RAB also rescued the man and child.
Employees of the resort said that Reaz and Ashiq know each other and are friends. Ashiq would also come to hang out at the resort.
Director of Zia Guest Inn, Habibur Rahman, claimed that the rape didn't take place in the hotel room. If it took place, then it happened outside somewhere.
Ashiq is a resident of Baharchhara. The people of that area and the ward councillor of the pourashava's reserved seat, Nasima Akhter, told Prothom Alo that the people of the locality were fed up with Ashiq's oppression. He had a criminal gang of around 60 to 70 members all over the town. They mainly targeted tourists and others coming from outside and snatched away their money and valuables. They would take women to hotels and guesthouses to rape them there. Unless this was stopped, the tourism industry in Cox's Bazar would crash.
Statements of the law enforcement
RAB-15 Cox's Bazar company commander Mehdi Hasan told Prothom Alo that three of the perpetrators were identified by means of CCTV footage and inquiries. A drive is on to arrest them.
According to the police, Ashiq had been arrested on 7 November in a mugging and sent to jail through the court. After a month in jail on 8 December he was released.
The victim of rape was admitted to the One-Stop Crisis (OCC) at the Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital on Thursday morning. Resident Medical Officer (RMO) of the hospital Shaheen Md Abdur Rahman Chowdhury told Prothom Alo, the woman has been kept at the OCC. She will undergo medical tests and may remain in hospital for two or three days.
Earlier, the woman had told newspersons that late Wednesday night she had opened a window of the room at the resort and with the help of another person, opened the door and escaped. She called the police at the 999 emergency number but was told to go to the police station and file a general diary (GD). Then with the help of a person there, she called RAB-15. RAB arrived at the spot and rescued her.
Meanwhile, in a press release on Thursday, RAB-15 Cox's Bazar Battalion said that the woman was raped for a second time in the resort. Quoting a police officer, RAB said the media report that a call had been made to 999 was not true. No woman had called that number.
A threat to tourism
General secretary of the Kalatali Marine Drive Hotel, Guest House, Resort Owners Association, Mukim Khan, said that at least 600,000 tourists come to Cox's Bazar between 15 and 20 December. Even now a few thousand tourists come to the seaside. The rape of a tourist will have a detrimental impact on the tourist industry.
President of the Cox's Bazar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Abu Morshed Chowdhury, while speaking to Prothom Alo, said such incidents will negatively impact business in the tourist area.
Tourist Saiful Huq Mollah who had come to Cox's Bazar on Thursday from Dhaka, expressed his fears about the security of tourists there. Speaking to Prothom Alo, he said a woman being raped while holidaying in Cox's Bazar, had created a sense of fear. Why will tourists come here if they are not given security during their trip?