Munshiganj Correspondent:

Police have arrested a man for allegedly striking two girls with a belt in public on a launch in Munshiganj.

He was detained around 1:30pm on Saturday and taken into custody for questioning, said Munshiganj Sadar Police Station chief Saiful Islam.

The arrestee, Nehal Ahmed Jihad, is a resident of Sadar Upazila.

The assault of the female passengers occurred around 7:30pm on Friday on a three-storey launch MV Captain anchored at Munshiganj Launch Terminal.

Several videos of the incident have gone viral on social media.

In one of the videos, Jihad is seen recklessly assaulting a girl dressed in white and estimated to be 15-17 years old on the deck using a waist belt. Another woman donning a check dress was there at that time.

When they were being beaten, as many as 60 men of different ages were filming the scene on their mobile phones and cheering the alleged offender on.

Munshiganj Additional Superintendent of Police Md Feroz Kabir said, “Around 300-400 passengers from Dhaka’s South Keraniganj travelled by the launch for a picnic. On its way back to Dhaka from Chandpur, the launch docked at Munshiganj terminal to buy food where an altercation reportedly broke out with a group of youths.

“At one point, the locals allegedly assaulted the passengers and vandalised the launch.”

Feroz said the army and police rushed to the spot after receiving information and brought the situation under control. Later, the vessel left for Dhaka.

The passengers alleged that the perpetrators looted their belongings and mobile phones alongside the assault.

Saiful said, “No complaint has been filed with police yet. The victims said they would lodge one. Naval police are in touch with them.”