A case has been filed with a court against the president of the Patuakhali Sadar Upazila Jubo Jamaat, Md Shahidul Islam, on charges of allegedly raping a widow after luring her with a promise of marriage.

The case was filed with the Patuakhali Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal on 22 July.

Judge Shirin Nila took cognisance of the complaint and directed Patuakhali Sadar Police Station to register it as a formal case and take legal action against the accused.

The development was confirmed to the media on Tuesday night by the complainant’s lawyer, Md Humayun Kabir.

Shahidul Islam, a resident of Baniyakathi village in Itbaria Union of Patuakhali Sadar Upazila, serves as president of the upazila unit of Jubo Jamaat and office secretary of the Patuakhali Welfare Foundation.

According to the complaint, the woman, whose husband died about seven years ago, returned to her parental home with her only son. She alleged that Shahidul repeatedly made unwanted advances towards her before proposing marriage.

The complainant alleged that on 24 March, Shahidul took her to a house in Patuakhali town, claiming it belonged to his sister, where he allegedly locked her in a room and raped her.

She further alleged that he subsequently raped her on several occasions after threatening and intimidating her, leaving her pregnant.

The woman also alleged that Shahidul later attempted to force her to terminate the pregnancy. When she refused, he allegedly took her to a clinic on 18 May under the pretext of a medical examination, where she was intimidated into taking medication.

She claimed that after losing consciousness, she later learned that the pregnancy had been terminated.

Her lawyer, Humayun Kabir, said the woman had been lured to the town with a false promise of marriage before being subjected to repeated sexual assault.