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A court in Tangail has sentenced a bus driver, his assistant and a conductor to life imprisonment for gang-raping a woman aboard a moving bus on the Dhaka-Tangail highway.
The court also fined each of them Tk 2 lakh, with an additional year of rigorous imprisonment if they fail to pay the fine.
Judge ANM Ilias of the Tangail Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal delivered the verdict on Sunday (October 25).
The convicts are bus driver Md Altaf, 25, son of Abdur Rab of Nanderai village in Chirirbandar upazila of Dinajpur; driver’s assistant Md Rabbi, 21, son of Khokon Mia of Shibpur village in Jamalganj upazila of Sunamganj; and conductor Sagar alias Sajib Matubbar, 24, son of Chunnu Matubbar of Chandherhat Bazar in Nagarkanda upazila of Faridpur.
Public Prosecutor Omrao Khan Dipu said the woman boarded a Savar Paribahan bus at Gabtoli in Dhaka at around 11:45pm on January 14, intending to travel to Ashulia. Other passengers got off at different stops along the way.
The bus staff then took turns raping her while the vehicle was moving. They also allegedly threatened her and snatched her earrings, Tk 36,000 in cash and mobile phone.
The accused continued driving around on the Dhaka-Tangail highway before stopping the bus the following day near the Kortia underpass in Tangail Sadar.
The woman then reported the incident to highway police patrolling the area. Police detained the three men along with the bus and handed them over to Tangail Sadar Police Station.
The victim filed a rape case at the police station that day. After completing the investigation, police inspector Victor Banerjee submitted the charge sheet to the court on April 29.
After examining testimony from 15 witnesses and finding the charges proven, the court delivered the verdict. The convicts were later sent to Tangail Jail.