Another two people have been arrested over the rape of a woman in Noakhali, allegedly for casting her vote in favour of BNP’s electoral symbol ‘paddy sheaf.’

Md Ruhul Amin and Becu were arrested in the early hours of Thursday (Jan 3), said police.

“Ruhul Amin, former member of local Union Parishad, was arrested around 2.30am from Wapda area in Sadar Upazila’s Dharmapur Union,” said Charjabbar police OC Md Nizam Uddin.

“Becu was arrested from a brick kiln at Khajuria village in the district’s Senbagh Upazila around 2am,” OC Nizam Uddin added.

So far, five people have been arrested in different drives over the incident. Three other arrestees are Shohel, Swapan and Badsha Alam alias Basu.

On Wednesday (Jan 2), Deputy Inspector General of Chattogram Zone, Golam Faruk, visited the victim and talked with the victim and her husband.

“The perpetrators will not be spared,” Golam Faruk assured.

The victim’s husband filed a case against nine people in the incident on Monday (Dec 31).

He said that the accused threatened his wife after they saw she voted for ‘paddy sheaf’ on Dec 30.

A group of people knocked at our door saying they were the police and barged in after 12 am,” he said. “They tied me and my children up and took my wife outside where they raped her and beat her up indiscriminately,” he added.

He said that the 15-16 men involved were about to murder his wife when she recognised them, but left her on the yard after she pleaded for her life.

The husband alleged that while she was being taken to the Noakhali General Hospital for treatment, local thug and Awami League’s district unit publicity secretary, Ruhul Amin’s men threatened their entire family if they divulged the attack to the media.