Son at gunpoint, mother gang raped in Mym

A mob vandalised the home of the prime accused in a case filed over the alleged gang rape of a woman in Gafargaon, Mymensingh, after holding her ninth-grade son hostage, police said.

The incident took place at around 9:30am on Tuesday, when angry local residents went to the house of prime accused Sharif, 23, and damaged its tin fencing and roof, according to locals.

Police said five people were named as accused in the case: Sharif, his brother Arif, 21, Fahim, 22, Rajib, 23, and Enamul, 22. Rajib was arrested in a police raid on the night of the incident, while the other four accused remain absconding, police said. The woman filed the case with Gafargaon Police Station on Friday night, a day after the alleged incident.

According to the case statement and police, the five men went to the woman’s house around 8pm on Thursday on the pretext of asking for water and an axe. When her son came to the door with water, they allegedly held him hostage at gunpoint before entering the house and assaulting his mother.

The woman also alleged that the accused recorded the assault and threatened to share the video on social media while demanding money from her.

Before Tuesday’s vandalism, family members of the accused were moved to a safe place and household belongings were removed from the house, locals said.

Residents held meetings on Sunday and Monday evenings to discuss the case and decide on further action. Gafargaon Police Station OC Moniruzzaman Sheikh said police were sent to the scene after receiving information about the vandalism.

He urged residents not to take the law into their own hands and instead provide police with information about the whereabouts of the remaining accused.

Police are conducting raids to arrest the fugitives, he said.