Driver, helper detained for threatening student with rape

Law enforcers have detained the Thikana bus driver and helper who threatened a college student with rape as she paid half fare.

Md Rubel, driver of Thikana Paribahan, and his helper Mehedi Hasan were detained in Narayanganj’s Siddhirganj, said the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Sunday evening.

Several hundred students blocked Dhaka’s Bakshibazar intersection for over an hour earlier in the day in protest against the incident that allegedly occurred on Saturday. The alleged victim was a student of Begum Badrunnessa Govt Girls College.

Students of the college and other educational institutions across Dhaka took part in the protest, said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Kudrat-e-Khuda.

The protesters had three demands - accept half fares from students, allow students to board buses, and justice for the alleged harassment and threats. “We spoke to them and convinced them to clear the road,” Kudrat said.

The demonstration brought traffic to a halt from Chankharpul to Bakshibazar and from Bakshibazar to the Dhaka Education Board and the road opposite BUET.