'Drugged, raped, filmed': Youth arrested for ‘instigating 8th grader’s suicide’ with repeated abuse

A man has been arrested for allegedly drugging, raping an eight grader, filming the incident and using the video to repeatedly abuse her, which ultimately drove her to die by suicide in Mongla of Bagerhat.

The accused, Md Ashabul Yamin (24), was arrested from the Madhobi Colony area of Monga municipality in a case filed over the death of Neela Hossain (14), who took her own life on 15 December last year.

"Ashabul is the prime accused in the case. He admitted the truth of the incident and his own involvement during police interrogation. Police are conducting intensive operations to arrest other accused in the case," said Mongla Police Station Officer-in-Charge (investigation) Manik Chandra Gain.

According to police and family members, initially, it was thought that she ended her life out of disagreements with her family, and a case of accidental death was registered at Mongla Police Station. However, later, her parents came to know about the reported abuse she went through and filed a complaint against Ashabul and his associates with the Bagerhat court on 7 April under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000, on charges of rape and abetment to suicide.

Later, the court ordered the officer-in-charge of Mongla Police Station to record the complaint as an FIR. As per the court's instructions, the Mongla Police Station registered the complaint as an FIR on 21 April.

"Police have begun investigating the case. Ashabul has been produced in the court," added the OC.

Apart from Ashabul, three others, including a woman, have been accused in the case.

As per the case statement and family sources, Neela, daughter of Ali Hossain Bachchu, a resident of Shamsur Rahman Road in Mongla city, and a student of class eight of the local Mongla Islami Adarsh ​​Academy, was one of the best-performing female cricket players. Due to her popularity as a good cricketer, she used to travel to different places in Mongla to play in various games.

The talented eighth-grade student and cricket enthusiast became acquainted with Ashabul, son of Sohel Rana, who works as the master of a vessel under the Mongla Port Authority, and his associates through her sports activities.

According to the case statement, after a few days of developing a friendship, Ashabul and his associates lured Neela to a picnic in the Karamjal area of ​​the Sundarbans in a trawler.

"There, Ashabul drugged Neela and raped her. At one point, Ashabul and his associates recorded the scene and took Neela's nude photos. After that, Ashabul and his associates began to abuse Neela mentally and physically. They threatened to spread the rape video on Facebook and show it to her parents," it reads.

The statement also says after blackmailing Neela in this way, Ashabul took her to different places with the help of his associates and abused her in various ways, including rape. "The intensity of torture increased day by day. At one point, on 14 December 2024, Ashabul took Neela to a coffee shop in the Kaimmari area on his motorcycle. At one point during the conversation, Neela asked him to marry her, but Ashabul refused, saying various insulting, shameful and humiliating things."

"Neela broke down emotionally and committed suicide the next night by hanging herself from the ceiling of her house," it states.