Fourth grader ‘gang-raped’, UP member arrested

A Class-IV girl has allegedly been raped by four young men at Kabirajpara village in Sherpur's Jhenaigati upazila, reports UNB.

Police on Sunday arrested a union parishad member for trying to hush the incident and destroying the evidence.

The arrestee is Hanif Uddin, 50, member of Hatibandha union parishad.

The victim’s family said the child went to attend the marriage ceremony of a neighbour on the night of 9 October when the youths picked up her and raped her in turns.

All the rapists -- Khabir, 20, son of Jamshed Ali, Nuruzzaman, 20, son of Makbul Hossain, Shanta, 18, son of Joynal Abedin, and Zihad, 18, son of Ismail Hossain – have been on the run.

However, family members of the rapists with the help of the UP member tried to cover up the incident by destroying the evidence of gang-rape, police said.

Being informed, police arrested the UP member on Sunday and the victim’s uncle filed a case with Jhenaigati police station in this regard.

Officer-in-charge of the police station Abu Bakar Siddique said the victim had been sent to the Sadar Hospital for medical test and they were looking for the rapists.

The girl stays at her uncle’s house as her mother works in Saudi Arabia.