Recently, a video has been circulating on social media claiming that 18 people gang-raped a woman and then tied her to a tree before killing her.
See the report on this claim in Indian media: Ei Din.
See some Facebook posts spreading this claim, here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), and here (archive)
See the YouTube video spreading this claim, here (archive)
See the post on X, here (archive))
See the Instagram post, here (archive)
Fact-Check
The Rumor Scanner Team’s investigation found that the claim about 18 people gang-raping a woman and tying her to a tree before killing her is false. In reality, the video being circulated is related to an incident from March last year in Kulaura, Moulvibazar, where a woman was murdered by her ex-husband by strangulation using a scarf.
Upon analyzing the video in question, it shows a woman tied to a tree with a scarf. A man, who introduces himself as the deceased woman’s father, identifies himself as Ruhul Amin and states that the murdered woman’s name was Rekha Begum. A watermark reading The Somoy is also visible in the video.
Based on this lead, a search on Facebook reveals a page named ‘The Somoy,’ which posted a 4-minute and 40-second video report on March 30, 2024, titled “Initially missing, after two days, the body of the young woman was found in a dense forest…”. Analysis shows that the discussed claim is being spread using a fragmented portion of this video.
Based on the Facebook page’s caption, further investigation led to a report in Prothom Alo (link) published on March 31, 2024, providing details about the incident. The report states that police arrested Riaz Uddin, the ex-husband of Rekha Begum, in connection with her murder in Kulaura, Moulvibazar. He was captured on March 30 during a raid in the Tejgaon Industrial Area of Dhaka. During interrogation, Riaz confessed to the murder.
Confirming the arrest, the investigating officer of the case, Kulaura Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI) Abdur Rahim, told Prothom Alo that during interrogation, Riaz stated that after their divorce, his ex-wife was in talks to marry another man, which he could not accept. As a result, he lured Rekha to a forest near his house and, saying, “If I can’t have her, no one else will,” strangled her with a scarf. After the murder, he tied the body to a tree and went into hiding.
According to the case statement, the report further mentions that in Dhaka, Riaz Uddin frequently physically and mentally abused his wife while under the influence of drugs. Due to this situation, a local arbitration took place about two months ago, during which Riaz announced his decision to divorce his wife. At that time, he paid a mahr (Islamic dower) of 50,000 taka. On March 27, when no other family members were at home except for Rekha, some locals saw Riaz walking with her towards the forest. After that, both of them went missing. On the afternoon of March 29, Rekha’s body was found tied to a tree with a scarf in a dense forest in the Grezing Nayabagan area near their house. Upon receiving the news, the police arrived at the scene and recovered the body.
Several other media outlets also reported (1,2) the same incident.
Despite recent incidents of violence against women in the country, no evidence supports the claim that 18 people gang-raped and murdered a woman in the manner described.
Conclusion
The claim that 18 people gang-raped a woman and then tied her to a tree and killed her is misleading.
Sources
- The Somoy: Facebook Post
- Prothom Alo: Kulaura Ex-Husband Arrested for Murder
- Somoyer Konthosor: Rekha’s Murder Suspect Arrested within 30 Hours
- Desh Rupantor: Teen Girl’s Body Found Tied to a Tree
