In Satkhira Sadar upazila’s Babulia Post Office, a 55-year-old postmaster named Shahidul Islam was detained by locals and handed over to law enforcement on allegations of raping an 11-year-old mentally challenged child. The incident occurred on Sunday (August 3) around 3 PM.Shahidul Islam, son of the late Sheikh Badruddin Haider from Banshghata village in Satkhira Sadar upazila, was identified as the accused. According to police and local sources, the child is the daughter of her mother’s first husband, with her father’s home in Babulia village. After her parents’ separation, her mother remarried in the nearby Banshghata area. The child frequently visited the post office area to meet her mother.
On Sunday afternoon, while the child was on her way to see her mother, Shahidul Islam allegedly lured her into the post office with a promise of BDT 10 for organizing papers. He then locked the door and raped her. Locals, sensing something amiss, opened the door, rescued the child, and detained Shahidul, informing the police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
RAB members arrived at the scene, admitted the victim to Satkhira Sadar Hospital, and took Shahidul Islam into custody. Ashraf Ali, a peon at the post office, stated that upon returning after lunch, he found an agitated crowd detaining Shahidul. A village police member, also named Shahidul Islam, confirmed the incident, stating that RAB rescued the child and arrested the accused. The child’s mother has filed a complaint.
The Investigation Officer at Satkhira Sadar Police Station reported hearing of the arrest by RAB but noted that, as of 6 PM, the accused had not been handed over to the police. He added that no written complaint had been received yet, but legal action would be taken upon receiving one and conducting an investigation.
