The High Court (HC) on Sunday directed the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of a rape victim in Cumilla's Muradnagar upazila and ordered the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to remove all related videos from social media and online platforms within 24 hours.
The directives were issued by the HC bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Sayed Jahed Mansur following a hearing on a writ petition.
The court further ordered the authorities concerned to submit a progress report on the investigation by July 14, when the next hearing is scheduled.
Supreme Court lawyer Mir AKM Nurun Noby filed the writ petition, attaching several published reports on the incident.
He also represented the petition during the hearing, while Deputy Attorneys General Shafiqur Rahman and Tanim Khan appeared for the state.
Confirming the court order, lawyer Mr Noby told The Financial Express that the High Court also issued a rule asking the respondents to explain why they should not be directed to remove all videos related to the victim from online platforms and to provide her with adequate security.
According to reports, the woman had gone to her parents' house with her children around 15 days ago. On Thursday night, a man named Fazor Ali, 38, came to the house around 10pm and demanded she open the door. When she refused, he broke it down and raped her.
Hearing screams from the house, locals rushed to the scene, rescued the woman, and caught the accused; however, he managed to escape at one point.
A video of the incident later went viral on Facebook, sparking widespread outrage.
The victim filed a case with Muradnagar Police Station on Friday.
Police said they have so far arrested five people in connection with the incident. The prime accused, Fazor Ali, was arrested from the Sayedabad area in the capital early Sunday morning.
The other arrestees -- Md Sumon, Ramzan Ali, Md Arif, and Md Anik -- were accused of spreading the video on social media.
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