Rape is regarded as one of the most horrific crimes against women, although at times the offenders escape punishment for their transgressions. However, a reported vigilante in Bangladesh decided to take matters into his own hands and took the lives of at least three suspected rapists. The peculiar case which equally intrigued and astonished the world came to the fore in 2019.
His identity also appeared to be shrouded in mystery, reminiscent of any popular superhero movie where a ‘Dark Knight’ rises to seek retribution for the beleaguered people. He also left messages and warnings in the name of the Greek divine hero, “Hercules,” adding a further layer of secrecy to the entire thing.
The story started with a tragic occurrence on 7th January when an 18-year-old Ashulia district factory worker was found dead in her home, just hours after reporting her rape to the local authorities. According to the local police records, a textile worker individual named Ripon and three other co-workers were the identified suspects in this case. On 17th January, the vigilante found his target Ripon and exacted his revenge. He also left a note on the deceased’s neck in Savar which read “I am the prime accused in a rape case. I am a rapist. This is my punishment for the rape. Be careful. Be careful – Hercules.” This discovery signalled the beginning of the investigation into the unexplained killings.
Police then received a report of a body found in the neighbouring trash yard on 1st February in the quiet district of Rajapur, a subdistrict of Jalakathi. The deceased had been found to have gunshot wounds, which were described as significant punctures to the head. The cops observed that a message was hanging around the corpse’s neck which stated, “I am Rakib. I am the rapist of a madrassa girl (unnamed) of Bhandaria. This is the punishment for the rape. Be wary rapists – Hercules.” It was the body of a rape accused Rakib Mollah.
Notably, just one month prior, the Bangladeshi police had identified the 13-year-old girl and learned of her horrible ordeal, which led to an unusual turn in the case. She was sexually violated on 14th January by a pair of males while she was travelling to visit her grandma. The crime took place in the Pirojpur district, specifically in the Bhandaria area. Her father had reported the instance to the local police on 17th January, and they subsequently named Rakib Hossain Mollah and Sajal Jamaddar as the two possible offenders.
As fate would have it, Rakib’s body and the ominous note would be revealed within the next two weeks. With the shocking event, “Hercules” who by this point was being lauded by the townspeople as a vigilante, entered the national spotlight. The press and media throughout the world took notice of the contents of the message undersigned by Hercules. It marked the beginning of the world’s attention to the rampage that a serial murderer known only as Hercules had unleashed.
At the time, the authorities believed Hercules had struck twice and Rakib’s murder was committed after Ripon’s. They soon realized, nevertheless, that Rakib was in fact the third target and not the second, after all. A week before Rakib, Hercules had already punished Sajal, Rakib’s friend and a law student, for his misdeeds. The police recognized Sajal’s body from a different incident, remarking that his head was pierced by bullets and fractured by the blunt end of a weapon. Additionally, a message alerting potential rapists in the area was uncovered there which displayed, “I am Sajal. I am a rapist. This is a punishment for my crime. Beware, Rapists. Beware – Hercules.”
Who was Hercules
The national police force launched a nationwide search and rescue effort to find Hercules when the body count continued to rise week after week. The officer in charge of the “Hercules” case, M. Jahidul Islam, admitted that although the police have started their inquiry from the beginning, they are currently unaware of his identity. Over five years have passed there are still unanswered questions about Hercule’s identity, motivations, whereabouts and whether he acted alone.
His vigilantism was recognized and warmly applauded by the people but many criticised him for functioning outside the boundaries of the legal system. Human rights advocates around the country denounced the delivery of “divergent justification.” Sheepa Hafiz, the executive head of Ain-O-Salish, a human rights organization, cautioned against unjustified vigilantism in the area in a statement to the national press. The activists agreed that the killings and the letters would only continue, inspiring a new wave of vigilantes to oppose the status quo and social norms. Sheepa Hafiz cautioned the people and the judiciary to act cautiously. “We have to look very carefully into why such incidents are taking place.”
Assistant Police Inspector-General Shohel Rana claimed, “It is not clear to police, who are involved behind this kind of secret killings. We are trying to identify them.” The men’s families, however, claimed that they were picked up or followed by police while they looked into the rape charges. However, Shohel Rana refuted the allegations. Interestingly, after a while, the killings allegedly ended in the same year and the enigmatic tale concluded leaving the bewildered people with more questions than answers.
