DHAKA: Bangladesh police have arrested four men over the rape of a teenager whose head was shaved as punishment by the accused’s wife in a case that has shocked the conservative country, an official said Sunday.
Police detained the four men including Tufan Sarker, a unionist linked to the ruling Awami League party, after pictures of the victim and her mother at hospital with shaved heads caused outrage.
A manhunt is still underway for Sarker’s wife Asha Khatun, who is accused of dragging the teenager and her mother to their home, beating them and forcibly shaving their heads.
Sarker, 25, has been charged with raping the 16-year-old at home on Friday, said local police spokesman Sonaton Chakroborty.
“He threatened to kill her and her mother if she would dare to talk to anyone about the incident,” he told AFP.
Another officer told AFP that Sarker was a local leader of the labor wing of the Awami League, which has been ruling Bangladesh for most of the last decade.
Photos of the victim and her mother at hospital with their heads shaved spread quickly online, outraging Bangladeshis who urged police to take prompt action.
The victim, whose identity has not been disclosed, said Sarker’s wife suspected she had engaged in a relationship with her husband.
“They shaved my entire head. I repeatedly apologized but they didn’t listen. They even beat my mother and shaved her head,” she told a local news channel.
Police said they were also pursuing Sarker’s sister-in-law, a councillor in Bogra city, for allegedly abetting the assault by sending thugs to help beat the victims.
Four suspects arrested as Bangladesh teenager raped, head shaved
Four suspects arrested as Bangladesh teenager raped, head shaved
Debris removal steps up at Karachi fire-hit plaza as death toll nears 60
- KMC teams remove debris under safety precautions as search for the missing continues
- Authorities are keeping agencies on alert amid rain forecast as the site remains unstable
ISLAMABAD: Municipal and rescue teams stepped up debris removal operations at a fire-hit shopping plaza in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi on Wednesday, as officials said the death toll from the blaze has climbed to nearly 60 and the search for missing victims continues.
Teams from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) are clearing rubble from Gul Plaza, a multi-story shopping complex where a fire broke out late Saturday, under strict safety measures, with debris being transported to a designated ground in the city’s Meva Shah area, an official statement said.
“Rescue teams are continuously engaged in search and clearance operations to locate any remaining victims,” the statement circulated by the KMC said, adding that authorities were aiming to complete the process as soon as possible while ensuring safety.
Located in Karachi’s densely populated Saddar district, the fire at Gul Plaza burned for more than 24 hours before being brought under control. The blaze gutted more than 1,200 shops, triggered partial structural collapse and left dozens of people trapped inside.
With rain forecast in the coming days, authorities have placed all relevant departments on alert and are making contingency preparations to prevent further risks at the site, the KMC statement said.
The disaster at the shopping mall has renewed scrutiny of fire safety standards in Karachi’s commercial buildings, where overcrowding, illegal construction and weak enforcement have repeatedly contributed to deadly incidents.
Following the Gul Plaza fire, the Sindh Building Control Authority has warned developers and building owners to address fire safety violations or face legal action.
Deadly fires remain a recurring threat in the city of more than 20 million people, despite periodic crackdowns ordered after major disasters.
