BD cops force gang-rape victim to marry suspect: family

DHAKA: Two Bangladeshi policemen have been disciplined after a rape victim´s family said she was forced to marry one of the accused rapists in a police station, officials said Tuesday.

The mother-of-three had accused five men of confining her to a room and sexually assaulting her multiple times between August 29 and August 31 in the northern district of Pabna. But her brother told the national Daily Star newspaper this week that officers at the police station forced her to sign documents divorcing her husband and marrying the main suspect.

The marriage allegedly took place when she first tried to file the complaint last week. Police officials on Thursday said the marriage appeared to be part of an effort to prevent the suspects from being prosecuted. Rights groups say gang-rapes have increased in the country in recent years.