Perpetrators of sexual assault in India tracked in Bangladesh

A video clip of a young woman being sexually assaulted, a young woman who has been missing for two years from Bangladesh, went viral on social media in the last few days.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Tejgaon division says they have analyzed the video clip footage. They found a man from the Hatirjheel area of Dhaka, resembling one of the men seen assaulting the woman. He has been identified as Rifazul Islam Hridoy, alias Tiktok Hridoy Babu, a permanent resident of Hatirjheel in ​​the capital. 

About two weeks ago, he and his friends tortured the girl in Kerala, India. He is now based in Pune, India, say, police officials. 

Based on initial investigation, Tejgaon police suspect that lured by promises of love, the girl was trafficked to India and was being held there, and was sexually abused. Hridoy and his friends are involved in trafficking and torture, said Tejgaon deputy commissioner of police, Md Shahidullah. 

"A national identity card, a JSC exam admission card, and some other documents were recovered from Tiktok Hridoy's house. Apart from identifying Hridoy's friends, it is being investigated whether they are Indians or Bangladeshis. 

The girl's father filed a case with Hatirjheel police station on Thursday.

A police official said the viral video showed 3 or 4 young men brutally torturing a young woman. The trafficking ring has made an Indian identity card for the girl, known as an Aadhar card. The police are also investigating whether these gang members have trafficked other women.

Tejgaon DC Shahidullah said, "I think, initially an organised human trafficking ring lured the girl into love and trafficked her abroad. The assistance of the Indian Police and Interpol will be sought in the investigation of this incident. All sorts of other initiatives are also being taken to rescue the victim and arrest those involved.

Hafiz Al Farooq, the additional deputy commissioner of police, Tejgaon division, said, "A few days ago, a video went viral on social media showing a 20 or 22-year-old woman being subjected to inhuman physical and sexual abuse. The video caught our attention in routine cyber patrolling. In the video, the face of a sexually abusive person resembles the Facebook ID picture of a young man from Nayatola in Hatirjheel. Based on this information, the exact name and address of the young man were identified. Questioning family members of the young man, it was confirmed that the identified person was one of the torturers."

Citing family members of the victim, police said the girl is 23 years old. Her family's financial situation is not very good and she did not study past the third grade. Her village home is in a district of Dhaka division. She got married in 2014 and her husband is in Kuwait. The family in the father-in-law's house allegedly tortured her, so she lived in his father's home even after marriage. She tried to go to Saudi Arabia for a better life but was cheated by the brokers who took Tk30,000 from her. After the incident, the young woman went missing and the family could not find her. She has a four-year-old child in Dhaka.

According to the police, the identified perpetrator is Rifazul Islam Hridoy, 26, son of Abul Hossain and Minu Akhter. Hridoy used to live with his family in Baubazar of Nayatola, under Hatirjheel police station. In the area, he is known as Tiktok Hridoy Babu. He studied up to eighth grade. Hridoy Babu would make videos with friends all day long and is thought to have left for India four months ago. There is a case against him filed with Ramna police station in 2014, for allegedly planning a robbery. Family members have claimed that Hridoy has no contact with his family.

A police official said he tactfully contacted Hridoy from his uncle's WhatsApp number to ascertain his whereabouts. Hridoy said he went to India three months ago. The video of the sexual abuse that went viral happened 15-16 days ago. The victim is a young Bangladeshi and her home address also falls under the jurisdiction of Hatirjheel police station. 

When the police officer wanted to know the details of the young woman, he sent an Indian identity card known as the Aadhaar card on WhatsApp. Based on the information given by him, the family of the victim was traced.