The family of a young man in Shailkupa upazila, Jhenaidah, has alleged that he was brutally tortured over a false accusation of killing a child.
They made the allegation at a press conference held at the residence of the victim, Rasel Sheikh, in Kabirpur under Shailkupa municipality on Sunday noon.
In a written statement, Rasel’s father, Yunus Sheikh, said that a two-year-old boy, Abrar Mridha, son of Azad Mridha of Jhaudia village, drowned in the nearby Kumar River on November 15. His body was later recovered and buried, as the family initially believed the child had gone alone to collect water hyacinth flowers and drowned accidentally. No suspicion of murder was raised at that time.
However, two days later, on November 17, a group of 10–12 men and women, including the child’s father Azad Mridha, his brother Asad, and their father Amzad, attacked Rasel’s house.
They allegedly beat Rasel with lethal weapons, iron hammers, and sticks, then dragged him out of the house, tied him to a jackfruit tree, and continued the assault while calling others to join in. Police from Shailkupa Police Station later rescued Rasel in critical condition and admitted him to Shailkupa Upazila Health Complex.
The family also alleged that the attackers abducted seven-year-old Alifa Khatun, sister of Rasel, while she was returning from Arabic lessons around 7am. She was confined for nearly four hours and allegedly threatened with death, along with threats to burn their home, unless she falsely stated that her brother had killed Abrar and thrown the body into the river.
Yunus Sheikh further alleged that the attackers assaulted his wife, Madhu Khatun, in public and vandalised their house while neighbours looked on helplessly.
Terming the attack “inhuman and barbaric,” the impoverished family appealed to civil society, the media and the administration for protection from the influential Mridha family and demanded a fair and impartial investigation into the incident.
