Fazr Ali, others arrested in Cumilla rape case

NN Online:
Police have arrested Fazr Ali, the prime suspect in a widely discussed rape case in Cumilla’s Muradnagar upazila. He was apprehended early Saturday from Dhaka’s Sayedabad area, Cumilla Superintendent of Police Nazir Ahmed Khan confirmed.

Fazr, who was reportedly injured after being assaulted by locals following the alleged crime, will receive medical treatment as per legal procedures before being produced before court, Nazir added.

Alongside Fazr, police have also detained four others – identified as Anik, Sumon, Ramzan, and Babu – all residents of Muradnagar’s Panchkitta village. They have been accused of recording a nude video of the victim and circulating it on Facebook. A separate case is being prepared against them for violating the victim’s privacy and sharing explicit content online.

The circulation of the video triggered strong condemnation both locally and internationally.

According to Cumilla police, Fazr allegedly raped the wife of an expatriate at her parents’ home in Muradnagar on Thursday night. Following the assault, locals caught and beat him. During the chaos, some individuals filmed the scene and later uploaded the footage to social media. Police from Muradnagar Police Station arrived and took legal measures.

Muradnagar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Jahidur Rahman said the victim, a Hindu woman, filed a formal complaint on Friday, naming Fazr as the accused. He confirmed the survivor has undergone a medical examination.

Case documents state the woman had returned to her parents’ home two weeks prior to the incident. On Thursday night, after her parents left the house around 11pm, Fazr allegedly entered and raped her. The woman’s family reportedly knew Fazr through a previous financial transaction, as they had borrowed money from him. He used that connection to gain access to the house.