Two real estate businessmen landed in jail today, a day after they were arrested on charge of raping a woman in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area.
Police arrested them after the victim filed a case with Dhanmondi Police Station yesterday.
Both Shakil Kamal Chowdhury, 52, and Mohiuddin Sikder, 50, are directors of Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB).
Police arrested Shakil Kamal Chowdhury, and Engineer Mohiuddin Sikder in connection to the rape on Sunday night.
Shakil, and Mohiuddin are members of the Board of Directors at Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB). Both of them also own a business firm.
Dhanmondi police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abdul Latif confirmed the matter to Dhaka Tribune on Monday.
A similar incident was reported at the end of August this year. A university student was gang-raped during a job interview in Shyamoli on August 27. However, the incident was reported in the media two days later.
The year 2019 saw a huge jump in rape incidents, compared to last year. According to Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), a total of 948 women were raped across the country between January and August this year, while the number was 732 in the whole of 2018.
Regarding the rape incident in Dhanmondi, OC Abdul told Dhaka Tribune that the victim filed a case against the REHAB directors on Sunday night.
The case statement said Shakil met the victim, from Chapainawabganj, seven to eight months ago on Facebook.
He offered the 27-year-old woman a job, and asked her to come to Dhaka. On September 26, she met Shakil in his Dhanmondi office.
When checked, it was found that the office address provided in the case documents matches with the address of a business firm named Earth Holdings (pvt) Ltd, which is owned by the duo.
After three days, Shakil again called her on Viber, a cross-platform voice over IP and instant messaging software application, to discuss about the job.
Thirty-minutes after the call, she again went to his office around 3:30pm. She saw Shakil, and Mohiuddin there.
Before she could understand anything, Mohiuddin pinned her down on the sofa, and raped her, while Shakil held her hands. In turn, Shakil also raped her, while she was crying for help.
The duo also threatened her, and asked her not to share the incident with anyone.
When Shakil went to the washroom, the victim managed to push Mohiuddin aside, and fled the spot.
OC Abdul said: "The victim was sent to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) for medical examination, and treatment. We are investigating the matter.”
Dhaka Medical College Hospital Crisis Centre Coordinator Dr Bilkis Begum said: “We have conducted her forensic examination. We will also conduct a DNA test on her tomorrow [Tuesday].
“The primary report shows signs of rape.”
She added that tests will be conducted with samples of the arrestees as well.
