STAR REPORT

At least seven people landed in jail yesterday on charges of rape in six districts.

Of the victims, a six-year-old girl was raped by two teenaged boys in Habiganj’s Baniachong upazila on Sunday.

Quoting the victim’s family, police said the girl was playing at home on Sunday afternoon. Luring to give her chocolates, two neighbours took her to a nearby bush and raped her.

The two were arrested at night after the victim’s grandmother filed a case against the duo -- one is 15-year-old and another is 17, said Prabash Kumar Singh, an additional superintendent of Habiganj police.

A local court sent the two to jail yesterday, he said.

Meanwhile, the victim’s maternal uncle told The Daily Star that her father had been suffering from various diseases for a long time.

Hearing about the incident, his condition deteriorated, and he died around 11:00am yesterday, the uncle added.

Police officer Prabash, who visited the victim’s house yesterday, also confirmed the news of the father’s death.

In Laxmipur’s Ramgati upazila, two men were sent to prison yesterday in a case filed over raping and provoking the victim to die by suicide.

The accused are Md Rakib, 24, and Md Helal Uddin, 27, residents of the same upazila.

Quoting the victim’s family, police said Md Rakib somehow entered the 16-year-old girl’s house late at night on March 1 and raped her.

Villagers held an arbitration on Thursday morning to settle the issue. But some people scolded the girl there. She died by suicide in the afternoon. Police later recovered the body, said Kabir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Ramgati Police Station.

A day later, the victim’s mother lodged a case against 12 people, including Rakib, under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.

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