Shah Poran orchestrated mob attack, shared assault video to avenge brother

Shah Poran recorded and circulated the disturbing video of the woman being brutally assaulted in Muradnagar, Cumilla, to take revenge on his elder brother, Fazar Ali, according to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

The elite force described Shah Poran as one of the masterminds behind the mob attack. Fazar Ali had already been arrested earlier on charges of raping the same woman.

At a press briefing at Karwan Bazar in Dhaka on Friday, Lt. Col. HM Sajjad Hossain, commanding officer of RAB-11, also disclosed that Shah Poran was arrested by a RAB-11 team on Thursday night from Kabila Bazar area under Burichang police station in Cumilla.

The RAB officer said both Fazar Ali and Shah Poran had been harassing the woman for a long time. Two months prior to the incident, the two brothers had a violent dispute that escalated during a village arbitration, where elder brother Fazar Ali slapped Shah Poran. This humiliation led Shah Poran to seek revenge.

Sometime after the arbitration, the woman’s mother took a Tk 50,000 loan from Fazar Ali at high interest. On the night of 26 June, while the woman’s parents were away, Fazar Ali entered her bedroom under the pretext of collecting the debt and raped her.

Shortly afterward, a group of 8–10 men including Shah Poran, Abul Kalam, Anik, Arif, Suman, and Ramzan — all from the same village — broke into the house, assaulted the woman, and recorded the incident.

Shah Poran filmed the indecent and later circulated the video on social media. RAB believes that some of the men, including Abul Kalam who had personal enmity with Fazar Ali, had positioned themselves nearby in a premeditated manner.

After the incident came to light, the attackers went into hiding. The victim filed a rape case with Muradnagar police station on 27 June.

During initial interrogation, Shah Poran confessed that the entire act was carried out due to his desire to take revenge on his elder brother. Lt. Col. Sajjad Hossain said preparations are underway to hand Shah Poran over to the police.