'Lured with fake gig': 2 dancers 'gang-raped' on mid-river in Brahmanbaria; 1 held

Two female dancers were allegedly gang-raped and held hostage in the middle of the Titas River in Brahmanbaria after being lured there with a fake offer to perform at a wedding ceremony, according to police and the case statement.

The incident took place on Thursday evening (10 September) in the river between Sarail and Nasirnagar upazilas.

Police have arrested one of the accused, 19-year-old Shanto Biswas, from Budda village in Sarail around 2:30am on Friday (11 September).

According to the case documents, three professional dancers from Chandina in Cumilla – two women and a man – had been hired for Tk9,000 to perform at a wedding ceremony in Shahbazpur, Sarail. The organisers had paid Tk2,000 in advance.

The three arrived in the Sarail-Bishwaroad area on Thursday afternoon, where Rakib Mia, 22, who hired them, and two associates took them by CNG-run auto-rickshaw to a location beneath a bridge in Shahbazpur.

They were then taken onto a motorised boat on the pretext of being transported quickly to the wedding venue.

When the boat reached the middle of the Titas River, its engine was switched off.

The male dancer was held at gunpoint with a locally made firearm, while Rakib and four accomplices sexually assaulted the two women.

The accused later left the three victims at an open ground in Nasirnagar's Bhuiyaghat and fled.

The victims filed a case with Sarail Police Station that night, naming Rakib as the prime accused and four others as co-accused.

Sarail Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Zahirul Islam Talukdar said the victims had received medical treatment and returned to Cumilla.

"Police operations to arrest the accused are continuing," he said.