The police have arrested a father-in-law on charges of raping his daughter-in-law in Companiganj, Noakhali. The accused was arrested around noon on Sunday (March 16) and handed over to the Noakhali Chief Judicial Magistrate Court. Earlier, the incident took place at around 3:15 am last Monday. On receiving the complaint, the police arrested him from his house in Ward No. 1 of Charparbati Union of the upazila on Saturday night, March 15. The arrested Ahsan Ullah (55) is the son of the deceased Ali Ahamad of the same ward.

According to the victim and case sources, the husband of the abused housewife is a foreigner. He lived in the same house with his in-laws in the same house in different rooms. The father-in-law Ahsan Ullah used to say bad things to his daughter-in-law at different times. The victim informed her husband and mother-in-law about the incident, but they ignored her. Last Monday, at around 10 pm, the victim fell asleep in her room with her daughter as usual. Before eating Sehri, the father-in-law sneaked into the daughter-in-law's room. At that time, he forcibly raped the daughter-in-law against her will while she was sleeping. When the victim screamed, the father-in-law grabbed her face, raped her and quickly left the room. Later, the victim housewife informed her husband and mother-in-law about the incident.

Gazi Muhammad Foujul Azim, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Companiganj Police Station, said that the victim housewife filed a case under the Prevention of Violence against Women and Children Act. The father-in-law was arrested and presented in court in that case. The housewife has been sent to the 250-bed Noakhali General Hospital for a medical examination.