[Dhaka Tribune] A Noakhali court has framed charges against 16 people in a case filed over the gang rape of a 40-year-old woman in Subarnachar upazila of Noakhali on January 1.Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal 2 Judge Shamsuddin Khaled passed the order after a hearing on Thursday.
The plaintiff's lawyer Rabiul Hasan Polash said: "After investigation and collection of confessional statements from the arrestees, police submitted the charge sheet to the court, accusing 16 of them."
"Two of them are runaways and the rest of them are currently behind bars," he added.
On early hours of January 1, the mother of four was forcibly dragged her from her house in the Modhya Bagya village under Subarnachar's Charjubli union and gang raped, allegedly by 10-15 local Awami League activists.
Her husband, who later filed the case at Char Jabbar cop shoppe, alleged the group of miscreants, wielding firearms, barged into their home around midnight, tied him and his children up, forcefully took his wife away from their home and gang-raped her.
He alleged that his wife was attacked because she cast her vote for the BNP candidate during the 11th general election held on December 30, 2018.
The man alleged that the attackers were led by the ruling party's upazila unit Publicity Secretary Ruhul Amin, who was later expelled by Awami League.
The news of the gang rape had shocked the country, sparked protests in Dhaka and elsewhere, and drew condemnation on social media.