The man accused of the rape of a schoolgirl in Jamalpur used to stalk her and several other girls in their area and was also involved in drug trading, said police and locals.
The statement came after the accused Tamim Ahmed Khan Swapan, 25, was arrested early yesterday.
According to locals, some guardians complained about Tamim's misconduct but that did not deter him from continuing it. There were several local arbitrations, but he remained unchanged. Tamim, a cable mechanic, married four times and lived with his second wife, said police.
Rab arrested him in Char Shasha village around 2:00am yesterday, a day after the 16-year-old girl of Malancha MA Gafur High School in Melandah died by suicide on Thursday evening.
She left a suicide note, mentioning that Tamim "confined her to a room and did something very bad with her that she could not tell".
Ashik Uzzaman, commanding officer of Rab-14 of Jamalpur Camp who led the drive to arrest him, said in primary interrogation Tamim confessed his involvement in the rape.
Dilip Chandra Sarker, sub-inspector ofMelandah Police Station and the investigation officer of the case, said Tamim was produced before a Jamalpur court yesterday afternoon after being interrogated. The court sent him to jail.
Locals alleged that Tamim used to get support from his uncle Mirza Wahab Ali, ex-chairman of Nayanagor Union Parishad, and also worked for Mirza to hire people in the local polls.
He, along with some other youths, tried to cast votes forcibly in Nayanagor UP polls in 2017 for his uncle who was a rebel candidate of the Awami League.
Contacted, Mirza admitted that Tamim was his nephew and the son of his younger brother's second wife.
He said that his nephew grew up at his maternal uncles' house and had a very little contact with them.
"After hearing the incident, I assisted Rab and police to arrest Tamim", said Mirza, also an ex-member of Awami League Melandah upazila unit.
Nothing could stop the family members and relatives of the girl from grieving. She was the only child of her parents.
The victim's father said he tried his best to arrange money for her daughter's education.
"Everything is shattered now. I don't know how I will bear the pain for the rest of my life," he said. On Friday, the father lodged a case with Melandah Police Station accusing Tamim. The girl's father alleged that Tamim used to stalk his daughter on the way to school.
MM Moydul Islam, officer-in-charge of Melandah Police Station, said the body was found hanging from the ceiling in her room on Thursday night. Two notes were also found there, he said.
Protesting the death, her classmates and teachers brought out a procession and formed a human chain in front of the school yesterday morning, demanding exemplary punishment for the culprit.
SK
