Bangladesh continues to grapple with surging cases of rape. The situation has come to such a pass that the South Asian country is witnessing rape cases almost each day.
Despite paving the way for death penalty, the horror of rape still continues to haunt people in Bangladesh with numerous incidents of rape being reported from across the country.
The government was forced to approve death penalty for the rapists last October amid a series of protests against the move across Bangladesh.
A cross section of people ranging from sudents and youths to activists are united in protest after an O Level student was raped and murdered in Dhaka’s Kalabagan area on January 7.
Civil rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) which released a report that highlighted number of rapes for the year, said on average, four women were raped daily in Bangladesh amid Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite the protest, there is no significant decrease in rape incidents.
Last week, the country has seen at least 11 incidents of rape. As many as 19 people were arrested in connection with those incidents.
According to reports, 11 people were arrested over rape cases in Jamalpur, Magura, Comilla, Rajbari and Bogra districts on Saturday.
In Comilla, four men were held for gang-raping a mentally challenged woman in Charkuria village under Asadpur union of Homna upazila on December 29 last year.
Md Hasan, 27, Md Rasel, 20, Md Yusuf, 25, and another 16-year-old boy were arrested for the crime. All of those culprits hailed from the same village.
Police said a man was arrested for raping a 12-year-old mentally challenged girl in Gangnalia village of Sadar upazila on Friday.
On the basis of a case filed by the girl’s brother, police arrested their neighbour Tito Molla, 30, son of Kamruzzaman Molla, on Saturday.
On Januray 4, two men were arrested for gang raping an eighth-grade student in Madarganj upazila on January 4.
Sumon Akand alias Babu, 22, from Kayetpara area, and Azizul Haque, 30, from Bir Saguna area were held in connection with the crime.
A man was arrested for raping a ninth-grade girl and attempting to sell her as a prostitute in Kalukhali upazila on Saturday.
In Bogra, two men and and their accomplice woman have been arrested in connection with the rape of a 14-year-old disc jockey.
They also attempted raping her 13-year-old niece on January 7.