A group of armed men posing as passengers allegedly hijacked a Chattogram-bound bus in Tangail, robbed commuters of cash and belongings, and raped a woman at gunpoint.

The spine-chilling incident took place in the Raktipara area of Tangail's Madhupur upazila off the Dhaka-Tangail Highway during the early hours of Wednesday.

Police arrested Raja Mia – the reported mastermind behind the heinous crime – during a drive in the New Bus Stand area of ​​Tangail city on Thursday morning, Sarkar Md Kaisar, superintendent of Tangail Police, confirmed to Media.

He said, "Raja Mia, son of Harun ur Rashid of Balla village of Kalihati upazila, is a bus driver himself. A case has been in this regard.

"Efforts are underway to arrest the others involved."

The bus of "Eagle Paribahan," with 24-25 passengers on board, was on its way to Chattogram from Kushtia late on Tuesday night when the crime occurred.

A group of robbers boarded the bus around 11pm on Tuesday after it resumed its journey following a stopover at a hotel in Sirajganj district.

And some 5-10 minutes later, four more got into the bus, police said.

"Around 12am on Wednesday when the bus took the busy Dhaka-Tangail Highway in the Natiapara area, the robbers whiffed out guns, hijacked the vehicle and forced the driver to drive towards Madhupur upazila," the SP said.

On a desolate stretch, the armed gang robbed the commuters of cash, jewellery and mobile phones.

"The robbers then blindfolded the passengers and raped the woman commuter on board," the SP said.

The passengers' ordeal continued for over three hours till the seven criminals forced them to get off the bus and drove the heavy vehicle towards Raktipara's Jam-e-Mosque, where they abandoned it and fled with the booty, police said.

"The victim woman is being treated at Tangail General Hospital, and her medical test is slated for today (4 August)," the police official added.