Driver, two assistants held over gang rape in moving bus

A woman has been allegedly gang-raped in a moving bus on the Dhaka-Tangail Highway.

Police detained the driver, Altaf, 25, and his assistants – Md Sagar, 24, and Md Rabbi, 21, at Karatia in Tangail Sadar upazila on Thursday noon.

The victim is a resident of the capital’s Mirpur area.

Quoting the woman, Elenga highway police outpost in-charge Md Sharif said she boarded a bus of Savar Paribahan around 11:45pm on Wednesday from the Radio Colony area of Savar to travel to Ashulia.

At that time, there were two other passengers on the bus, who got off after it travelled some distance.

Finding the woman alone, driver Altaf and his assistant Sagar raped her, during which the incident was recorded on a mobile phone.

They then drove the bus around various roads in Savar, Ashulia and Chandra areas throughout the night.

They allegedly threatened to spread the video on social media if the woman shouted for help and also snatched her mobile phone and earrings.

The bus stopped around 12:15pm on Thursday near the Karatia underpass on the Dhaka–Tangail Highway. When a highway police patrol team approached the bus, the woman informed them of the rape.

Police rescued the woman, detained the driver and his two assistants, and handed them over to Tangail Sadar Police Station. The bus was also seized.

Ruhul Amin, officer-in-charge of Sadar police station, told the media that the driver and his associates would be prosecuted.