A female journalist was gang-raped in Pallabi, Mirpur, the capital. She was gang-raped overnight in an under-construction building in the Balurghat area of Pallabi police station on Monday (March 17) at around 1 am.

A case was filed with Pallabi police station on Tuesday (March 18) in this incident.

The accused are Enamul Haque, Hamidur Rahman, Chhota Yasin, Bora Yasin, Shahin, Robi, Hasan, Anu and 8 unidentified people.

According to the complaint, the female journalist works as a senior reporter in a newspaper. A month ago, she came to know that an organized gang was bringing innocent men and women to the Matikata area of the cantonment, making obscene videos and blackmailing them to extort money. The female journalist herself took the initiative to catch the gang. For this reason, on Monday at 11 pm, when she went to the alley of the Singer showroom in Matikata area to collect information, the accused mentioned in the case surrounded her from all sides. They beat her indiscriminately and dragged her to a secluded place. At around 1 am, she was taken from Matikata area to an under-construction building in Balurghat area of Pallabi police station. There, she was raped throughout the night in a dark, empty room on the third floor.

Pallabi police station OC Nazrul Islam said that two people have been arrested in the incident. The woman who was raped identified herself as a journalist. The victim has been sent to the One-Stop Crisis Center of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus has said that the attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, after August 5 were politically motivated and not religious. However, his government took immediate action against the perpetrators.

The Chief Adviser told this to US Senator Gary Peters, who is visiting Bangladesh, when he came to meet him at the State Guest House Jamuna on Tuesday (March 18).

During the meeting, Dr. Yunus urged the US Senator to visit different cities and towns of Bangladesh and invited other US political leaders, journalists and activists to visit the country to get the real facts about religious harmony.

The Chief Adviser's press wing said that during the meeting, Gary Peters raised concerns about the persecution of minorities in Bangladesh among Bangladeshi-origin people in his constituency of Michigan.

The chief adviser also said that all political parties will sign the July Charter only if they agree on the proposals of the reform commission.

Senator Peters wanted to know about the interim government's reform initiatives, the reports of the main commissions, and plans to hold free and fair elections.

The chief adviser said that if the political parties agree to minimal reforms, the government will hold elections in December. However, if the parties want a major reform package from the interim government, general elections will be held a few months later.

Professor Yunus said that if the political parties agree to the reforms proposed by the main commissions, they will sign the July Charter. The July Charter will determine the future path of the country.

Peters praised the government's reform program and said that the United States expects a peaceful democratic transition in Bangladesh.

In the nearly hour-long meeting, the two leaders discussed issues of mutual interest and ways to deepen relations between the two friendly countries.

The two leaders also discussed social businesses, a world free of poverty, and the role of microfinance in the fight against poverty, which could be important for the United States and the entire world.

Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain said that the US intelligence chief Tulshi Gabbard commented in the Indian media, focusing on minority torture and Islamic caliphate in Bangladesh.

The Foreign Adviser said this to the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday (March 7th).Asked about the position of the Foreign Ministry on the remarks of US intelligence chief Tulshi Gabbard, he said the Foreign Ministry said the response to the chief adviser's office (Tulshi Gabbard's statement) said. Her (Tulsi Gabbard) statement is serious.

Meanwhile, in an interview to the NDTV World in New Delhi on Monday (March 7th), Tulshi Gabbard said that the United States government, President Trump and its administration of the United States said in an interview to NDTV World is a major field of anxiety.Talks between President Trump's new cabinet and Bangladesh government are just starting, but it has become one of the main places of concern.

The interim government has protested against Tulshi Gabbard's statement on minority torture in Bangladesh on Monday night. In a statement, the government said, "We have noticed Tulshi Gabbard's statement with deep anxiety and frustration, where she alleged that religious minorities were being persecuted and killed in Bangladesh, threatening Islamist terrorists and global activities of various terrorist groups were directed by the same ideals and goals that ideals and aims are to rule through the Islamist Caliphate.Tulshi Gabbard's remarks are confusing and detrimental to the image and reputation of Bangladesh, the interim government has said that Bangladesh has traditionally been well known for the practice of peaceful and inclusive Islam and has achieved extraordinary progress in fighting extremism and terrorism.

Meanwhile, the newly appointed spokesman for the US State Department, Tamie Bruce, did not respond directly to the security of minorities in Bangladesh on Monday.