The driver of ‘Swarnalata Paribahan’ bus has allegedly confessed to raping nurse Shahinur Akhyter Tania before pushing her off the moving bus.
Nuruzzaman, who is being grilled in custody, has admitted that he along with his assistant Lalon Mia and one other person raped Tania, according to people familiar with the investigation.
Based on their confession, police recovered the original bus from Gazipur and found blood stains in three places. In addition to that they recovered Tania’s mobile phone, her luggage, including a brand new television.
Sources said that the driver and his assistant had initially tried to mislead the police by giving information about another bus where the police found no evidence of rape.
Investigators declined to name the third individual who was involved in the incident for the sake probe.
The perpetrators had tried to make it look like a road accident. They pushed Tania off the moving bus and then went back to that scene where a crowd had assembled, according to sources.
They then offered to take the victim to the hospital but took her to a pharmacy instead where they were told to take her to the hospital, they said.
“Those who brought the girl to the hospital tried to pass it off as an accident. But the wounds on the girl’s body didn’t match their account,” said Dr Tajrin Tayeba of the Katiadi Upazila Health Complex.
She added that they reported the police who arrested one of the men accompanying the victim while the other fled.
Kishoreganj Civil Surgeon Habibur Rahman told Bangla Tribune on Wednesday (May 8) that the autopsy report pointed towards rape and murder.
“She was hit on the head with something heavy,” he said and added that it should’ve immediately killed her.
“The skull broke due to the impact and there has been internal hemorrhage. Such impacts usually cause instant death. Even if that was not the case, it’s a matter of 30 to 40 minutes maximum,” he said.
Police made five arrests, including the driver of the bus and his assistant, after the family started a case with the local Bajitpur police on May 7.

According to the initial probe report by police, the 23-year-old died after being raped on board a bus operated by Swarnalata Paribahan, which was travelling from Dhaka to Katiadi Upazila on Monday.

Tania was alone on the bus after the other passengers got off at the Gazaria Upazila around 9:30 pm, police said.

The driver and his assistant dumped her on the road after gang-raping her.