AL activist’s son held over rape in Natore

The son of a ruling party activist has been arrested in Natore on charges of rape amid a countrywide outcry condemning rapists and demanding justice for the victims.

Arrestee Al Mamun, 24, is the son of Jiupara union ward-level Awami League leader Shomser Ali in Rajshahi’s Puthia upazila, our Rajshahi correspondent reports.

A student of Nawab Sirajuddaula Government College in Natore, Mamun allegedly promised to marry a woman and took her to a relative’s house in Rajshahi on May 15.

He introduced her as his wife before the relatives and reportedly raped her, said Sayedur Rahman Bhuiyan, officer-in-charge (OC) of Puthia Police Station.

He also said to have captured a video recording of the incident.

Later, the victim filed a case with Puthia Police Station on Wednesday, he added. Police arrested him from Khorishaka area of Singra upazila in Natore today, the OC said.

Bangladesh is already boiling in protest over an Awami League activist in Bogra, who allegedly raped a college student and later shaved the heads of the victim and her mother.