College student raped in moving bus in Habiganj, driver's assistant arrested in Sylhet

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested a bus driver's assistant on charges of raping a college student in a moving bus in Nabiganj upazila of Habiganj district.

The accused, Liton Miah, 26, was detained from the Jalalpur area in Sylhet's Dakshin Surma upazila around 11:45pm last night (16 June). He has been handed over to the Nabiganj Police Station.

KM Shahidul Islam, additional superintendent of police (media) at RAB-9, confirmed the arrest, saying it followed a joint operation by RAB units in Sylhet Sadar, Companiganj and Shayestaganj, based on secret information.

Earlier, bus driver Sabbir Miah was arrested in connection with the same case.

According to the case filed by the victim, an eleventh-grade student at a college in Dhaka, she had boarded a bus from Sayedabad on Sunday (15 June)  afternoon to return to her village home. She was supposed to get off at Shayestaganj but fell asleep during the journey.

Later, she disembarked at Sherpur, and boarded a local bus named Ma Enterprise. When the bus reached the Aushkandi area around 10pm, all other passengers got off. At that point, the driver and his assistant allegedly raped the student while the vehicle was still moving.

Hearing the victim's screams, locals stopped the bus in the Inatabad area. Driver Sabbir was caught on the spot and handed over to police with the help of army personnel. Liton fled the scene at that time.

"She filed a rape case against the two men at Nabiganj Police Station on Monday morning," said Sheikh Mohammad Kamruzzaman, officer-in-charge of the station.

The student has been admitted to the 250-bed District Hospital in Habiganj for medical examination and treatment.