Cox’s Bazar gang rape prime accused Ashiq arrested

Cox’s Bazar gang prime accused Ashiqul has been arrested in Madaripur, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) said, in a statement.

ANM Imran Khan, assistant director of RAB's Legal and Media Wing, confirmed the matter on Sunday.

According to police records , Ashiqul is a notorious criminal in the area against whom there are 16 cases including murder, drugs, rape, hijacking and women repression. Ashiq has just been released from jail on 7 December.

In an overnight raid on Saturday, three more youth were arrested in connection with the case filed over the gang rape.

The arrestees are Rezaul Karim, 25, Mamunur Rashid, 28, and Mehedi Hasan, 21.

Earlier, Zia Guest Inn hotel's Manager Riaz Uddin Soton was arrested in the same case. A Cox's Bazar court placed him on a four-day remand on Saturday.

On 23 December, RAB-15 rescued a female tourist who was reportedly gang-raped by local youths in Cox's Bazar as they held her husband and their eight-year-old child hostage.

The victim's husband filed a case around 8pm on Thursday with Cox's Bazar Model police station, 12 hours after the incident, accusing seven people.

Following the filing of the case, RAB arrested the hotel manager Riaz Uddin, 33, and identified three accused youths from CCTV footage.

In the case, four names were mentioned while three were unknown. The four are Ashiqul Islam, 23, son of late Abdul Karim of Baharchhara, Israfil Huda Joy, son of Shafiq Prakash Gunda, and Mehedi Hasan, son of Abul Kashem.