Court sends 3 into jail over female journalist assault charges

A Dhaka court has sent three men to jail pending trial over charges of assaulting and sexually harassing a female journalist in the capital’s Rampura neighbourhood.

The order was issued by Magistrate Md Sefatullah of the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrates' Court on Friday.

The accused — Shoaib Rahman Jisan, Raisul Islam and Kausar Hossain — were denied bail after state prosecutors opposed their release.

All three were later sent to jail, said Sub-Inspector Abul Kalam Azad of the Rampura Police Station’s Women and Children Prosecution Department.

The case drew public attention after the journalist took to Facebook last Wednesday, describing an incident in which a group of young men allegedly harassed her near her home.

When her brother intervened, she said, the group began beating him. As she tried to protect him, she was also assaulted and groped.

The incident prompted the journalist to file a police complaint, leading to an investigation and arrests across several neighbourhoods.

The case was filed under the Prevention of Violence Against Women and Children Act, 2000.

Jisan was detained in Meradia, Raisul in Bailey Road, and Kausar in Gendaria, police said.