A group of up to 10 men allegedly gang raped a mother and her teenage daughter after breaking into their home. The alleged incident happened on Tuesday in the Dolnighona area of Cox’s Bazar, a city on Bangladesh’s south-east coast, according to local reports.
The head of the local police said the mother filed a case on Wednesday morning, accusing seven named and five to six unnamed people. Police said a group of eight to 10 men cut through a window grille of the home and raided the home for gold jewellery and cash and raped the woman and her teenage daughter before leaving. Five of the named accused — aged between 23 and 27 — have been arrested. A 36-year-old man has also been arrested.
The police chief said another — identified by the victims’ family as the main person behind the reported incident — still hasn’t been detained, local newspaper The Daily Star reports.
Cox’s Bazar Assistant Superintendent of Police, Abhijit Das, told the outlet that the man had only been released from prison five days before the alleged attack, having been jailed on weapons and robbery charges.
The victim’s family also claimed the same criminal group had previously targeted their home on two or three occasions, reports say.
The mother was at home with her two daughters, one a teenager and one seven-years-old, when the alleged break-in and assault happened on Tuesday.
Earlier reports said the mother is aged 40, while the daughter is aged 15.