Attempted child rape in Ctg: Dozens injured after cops, locals clash as mob tries to snatch suspect; teargas fired, police car burned
The suspect has been taken into police custody around 1:30am. The situation is now fully under control, police say.
Dozens of people, including several police personnel and two journalists, were injured on Thursday (21 May) after violent clashes erupted between police and angry residents in Chattogram's Bakalia area when a mob tried to snatch a suspect accused of the attempted rape of a four-year-old child.
After seven hours of tension, the suspect has been taken into police custody.
Speaking to the media at around 1:30am, Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) Deputy Commissioner (South) Hossain Mohammad Kabir Bhuiyan said, "The situation is now fully under control. The accused person has been taken into police custody."
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He added, "Sound grenades and tear gas were used to disperse the agitated crowd."
The incident began around 5pm at Abu Jafar Road in Chairmanghata under Ward 19 of Bakalia Police Station, when hundreds of residents gathered demanding that the suspect be handed over to them.
According to police and local sources, an employee of a local decoration shop had lured the child into the shop and attempted to assault her.
After news of the incident spread, outraged residents surrounded the building where the suspect was hiding. Bakalia police and senior officials of the Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) rushed to the scene, rescued the child, and detained the suspect.
However, when police tried to transport the accused, locals blocked the vehicle and demanded mob justice.
"We demand the rapist be hanged. We will not let police take him; he must be handed over to us," a relative of the victim told The Business Standard.
As tensions escalated, police used tear gas shells, baton charges, and sound grenades to disperse the crowd after locals tried to snatch the accused from the police vehicle.
Around 1am, the unrest escalated significantly, spreading over a four-kilometer stretch from Bakalia to Chandgaon, reports our correspondent from the spot.
Angry protesters set fire to a police van and hurled brickbats at law enforcers, leaving the air thick with tear gas smoke and fires burning along the road. Vehicular movement on the Cox's Bazar-Chattogram highway was suspended.
More than 1,000 police personnel, along with five platoons of RAB and APBN members, were deployed to restore order.
CMP DC Kabir Bhuiyan told TBS that law enforcement acted swiftly to protect the victim. "The child was rescued and sent to the One-Stop Crisis Centre [OCC] at CMCH,"
"Despite our assurances that the accused would face the severest legal punishment, the agitated crowd tried to take the law into their own hands and blocked our vehicle. Police had to take action to bring the situation under control," he added.
CMP Assistant Commissioner (Media) Amirul Rashid also confirmed that several police personnel were injured during the clashes and noted that additional forces were being deployed.
During the live coverage of the clashes, sound grenades exploded near journalists.
Staff reporters Mamun Abdullah and Nobel Hasan, both representing the local daily Chattogram Pratidin, sustained injuries.
Chattogram Pratidin editor Hossein Toufiq Iftekhar told TBS, "They were injured after being hit by sound grenades during the clashes. Nobel Hasan's condition is serious; he sustained injuries to his hand and leg, while Mamun Abdullah was injured in the waist and leg."
Meanwhile, Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Dr Shahadat Hossain visited the child at Chattogram Medical College Hospital.
He said, "The highest punishment for the rapist will be ensured. No leniency will be given."
