Bogura Correspondent

Police finally arrested the canteen boy of a train for his alleged involvement in the gang-rape of a woman aboard a moving intercity train on Monday (August 31) night, following a prompt rescue operation triggered by a call to the national emergency helpline 999.

Two other suspects involved in the offense remain at large, and police are trying to nab them.

According to police quoted by the victims, the 44-year-old woman mistakenly boarded the northbound Kurigram Express train at Dhaka Airport Railway Station without ticket, intending to travel to Sirajganj.

While on board, two members of the Railway Security Force questioned her about her destination, hearing her explaination, the train’s canteen boy and two accomplices offered to assist her in finding a seat. Instead, they led her to the canteen staff’s private compartment, where they reportedly gang-raped her.

Following the assault, the victim managed to contact the national emergency service 999. Police Constable Md. Kaif Shah answered the distress call, while ASI Tarun Kumar Acharya, acting as the 999 police dispatcher, tracked the real-time location of the moving train and alerted the Santahar Railway Police Station to intercept the train at its next stop.

Upon receiving instructions from 999, a team from Santahar Railway Police Station raided the Kurigram Express as soon as it arrived at Santahar station.

Officers rescued the victim and arrested one of the suspects, identified as Abu Bakkar Siddique, 22, a canteen worker and son of the late Masud Rana from Abdulpur in Natore’s Lalpur Upazila.

A case has been filed in connection with the incident, and operations to arrest the remaining two perpetrators are ongoing, police said.