Hill Voice, 12 March 2025, Rangamati: It has been reported that a Bengali construction worker raped a Jumma girl (12), a 6th grade student in Aimachhara Union, Barkal Upazila, Rangamati district, taking her to the Reserve Bazar in Rangamati town.

On 7 March 2025, in the morning, a Bengali construction worker named Md. Arif (22), son of unknown, committed the rape at the Dhaka Boarding House in Reserve Bazar.

It is reported that the victim’s house is in Ward No.5 of Aimachara Union of Barkal Upazila.

It is learnt that the worker, named Md. Arif, used to go to Aimachara occasionally for construction work. It was through this opportunity that Md. Arif met the child.

That morning, the child came to the Reserve Bazar at the lure of Md. Arif. Later, Md. Arif took the child inside the Dhaka Boarding House around 11 am. At that time, a young man named Palash Chakma saw the incident and started observing from a certain place. The girl child left the boarding house at 3 pm in a dejected state. Then, it is said that Md. Arif with another Bengali youth took the child to the launch in Barkal.

Later, some villagers, learning the identity of the child, informed the child’s family members in Barkal about the incident.

Meanwhile, after the child reached Barkal, the family members took the child to Barkal Health Complex after seeing her dejected condition. But since there was no medical officer there, the medical assistant in charge advised taking the child to Rangamati District Hospital. Although the child was taken to Rangamati, it is learnt that later, for unknown reasons, the child’s guardians secretly took the victim child back to Barkal.

It is not yet known whether a case has been filed in this regard and whether the accused has been arrested.