Jashore: Lured with job offer, woman raped by 3

A 29-year-old woman was allegedly raped by three men on Friday after being lured to Sadar upazila in Jashore on the pretext of a job offer.

One of the accused -- Manik Kundu, a resident of Pattipur in Phultala upazila of Khulna -- was known to the woman, police said, adding efforts were on to nab them.

Touhidul Islam, additional SP of Jashore, said Saturday that Manik had lured the woman -- an orphan who grew up at a relative's place in Abhoynagar -- to Sadar on the promise of a job for which he earlier took Tk 20,000 from her.

According to the woman's complaint, Manik asked her to meet him in Sadar upazila on Friday evening. When she arrived at the spot, Manik asked her to accompany him to her potential employer's house.

Unsuspecting, she went. The two soon boarded public transport for Hashimpur. But en route, two of Manik's accomplices joined them.

"All of them got off at Bahadurpur village minutes later. But instead of taking her to her potential employer's house, they dragged her to a field where they took turns to rape her," the additional SP said.

The woman was also thrashed by the alleged rapists when she resisted and threatened with dire consequences if she narrated her ordeal to anyone. She was later spotted by a passerby who rushed her to Jashore General Hospital.

A probe is on, the officer said.

Rapes in Bangladesh

Cases of rape are on the rise in Bangladesh, despite the government introducing the death penalty for the heinous crime.

According to data compiled by Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), a rights group, 1,018 children were raped last year alone, but only 683 cases were filed at police stations. Among them, some 116 were of 6 years or below.

Overall, 1,627 cases of rape were reported last year and 53 of them were killed by the perpetrators after the crime while 14 took their own lives, the ASK data reveals.

In November last, Bangladesh introduced the death penalty for rape cases, following days of protests against sexual violence against women.

Although many have appreciated the government for introducing the death penalty, gang rapes in Bangladesh continue to hit headlines.

In October last, the country was rocked by huge protests after a woman was attacked and raped in Noakhali district. In another case in Sylhet a week later, a woman was gang raped at a hostel, triggering nationwide protests again.