3 held over alleged attempted rape on moving bus in Ashulia

Police have arrested three people, including a bus driver and his helper, in connection with the attempted rape of a woman on a moving bus in Ashulia.

The arrestees are bus helper Md Mushfiqur Rahman Jony, 20, bus driver Md Imran, 35, and Md Sumon Pramanik, 30, an associate of the driver.

According to police, the victim and her acquaintance, Md Rubel, 27, boarded a Savar Paribahan bus at Gabtoli Bus Terminal in Dhaka at around 1:30am on Sunday, intending to travel to Nabinagar in Savar.

Before the bus reached Nabinagar, all the other passengers had disembarked at different stops.

Police said that shortly before reaching Nabinagar Bus Stand, Imran handed over the wheel to Jony, who then drove the bus at high speed towards Chandra in Gazipur.

Imran allegedly assaulted Rubel, threatened to kill him and forced him off the bus in the Sreepur area. Imran then got off the bus, leaving only the victim, Jony and Sumon on board.

Jony then allegedly grabbed the victim and attempted to rape her on the moving bus, police said.

After getting off the bus, Rubel called the national emergency service, 999, and informed police of the incident.

Acting on the information, Ashulia police launched an operation and intercepted the bus near Baroipara Bus Stand by blocking its path with another bus. Officers rescued the victim and detained Jony and Sumon.

The victim later filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.

At around 3:30pm on Sunday, a police team arrested Imran during a raid in the Baroipara area of Ashulia.

Mohammad Tarikul Islam, officer-in-charge of Ashulia Police Station, said several police teams launched a coordinated operation immediately after receiving the 999 call, rescued the victim and detained Jony and Sumon.

"The victim filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act later that night. The two were shown arrested in the case and produced before a court the following day," he said.

He added that Imran was arrested in a subsequent raid in the Baroipara area and was produced before a court today.