Dhaka, March 18 -- A 60-year-old man has been arrested by the police in Phulchari Upazila of Gaibandha on charges of raping a student in the second grade.

The accused, Bisha Sheikh, was arrested on Monday from the remote Char Harichandi village in Erendabari Union, said Phulchari Police Station Officer-in-Charge Khandaker Md Hafizur Rahman.

According to locals, the 10-year-old girl, a student of a local madrasa, was playing near her house on Monday afternoon. Sheikh came and lured her away to a cornfield under the pretence of telling her a story.

There, he allegedly "covered her mouth and raped her," said the locals. The child later returned home and informed her parents about the incident.

As news of the incident spread, outraged vil...