Driver arrested over attempted rape of garment worker on moving bus in Ashulia

Police have arrested a driver on allegations of attempting to rape a female garment worker aboard a moving bus in Ashulia.

The bus has been seized, while the helper, who is also accused in the case, remains on the run.

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According to Ashulia Police Station, the driver, Md Azizul Sikder alias Raju, 37, of Harinhati village in Kotalipara upazila of Gopalganj, was arrested during an overnight raid in Raj Fulbaria area of Savar last night.

Ashulia Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Tarikul Islam told The Daily Star that the woman boarded an Itihash Paribahan bus at Chandra in Gazipur for DEPZ in Ashulia on the night of July 12.

At around 12:30am, the driver allegedly attempted to rape the woman and snatched her mobile phone. To escape the assault, she jumped from the moving bus, suffering serious injuries, the OC said.

The woman filed a case with Ashulia Police Station on July 15. Investigators later analysed CCTV footage from different locations, identified the bus and arrested the driver last night. Police also recovered the woman's mobile phone from the suspect's possession.

The OC said preliminary investigation suggests that there were no other passengers on the bus at the time of the incident. While the helper was driving the vehicle, the driver allegedly tried to sexually assault the woman. The two then fled towards Savar with the bus.

The arrested driver was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court in Dhaka today with a plea for a five-day remand. Efforts are underway to arrest the absconding helper, the OC added.