Kurigram Correspondent

A teenager was allegedly raped after being held captive for 18 days in Rajarhat Upazila of Kurigram. When the matter came to light, a team of the Kurigram Camp Army conducted a raid on Thursday afternoon and recovered local weapons. At that time, the army took the victim into police custody.

According to army and police sources, Fazlul Haque (48), son of the deceased Tengra Mamud, a resident of Chargakunda village in Gokunda union in Sadar upazila of Lalmonirhat district, forcibly abducted a 17-year-old girl, a resident of Madhya Sultan Mahmud village in Gharial Danga union in Rajarhat upazila of Kurigram district, on March 2. Since then, Fazlul Haque has been accused of keeping the girl in his house until March 19, physically abusing her and recording videos and photos of physical intercourse. When the matter spread among the people including on social media, the Kurigram Army conducted a camp operation on Thursday afternoon. With the help of the army, the girl was rescued and handed over to Rajarhat police station. During the operation, 2 knives, a hatchet and 1 SS pipe were recovered from Fazlul Haque's house.

Hasan Jihadi, joint convener of the Kurigram Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said, "A teenage girl was kidnapped by a truck driver named Fazlul Haque and gang-raped for 18 days in my village. The victim girl somehow escaped last night and took shelter in a house. Hearing the incident from the girl's mouth, the locals surrounded Fazlul Haque's house, but Fazlul Haque and his wife fled."

The victim girl said, "For a long time, Fazlul Haque and his wife have been offering me immoral acts. When I did not agree, they took me to the toilet. Then they forcibly raped me. If I reveal this incident, they threatened to spread the video of their physical relationship with me on the internet. I want justice for this."

Rajarhat Police Station Officer-in-Charge Taslim Uddin said, the girl is currently in police custody. However, the incident site is in Lalmonirhat district. Lalmonirhat police have been informed. They will come and take further action.