Bogura: A 35-year-old man died early Tuesday allegedly after being detained and tortured throughout the night on suspicion of theft in Nishindara of Sadar upazila in Bogura. The deceased was identified as Shamim Hossain, son of Abdul Quddus of Chowmuhani area under Namuja union of the upazila.
According to United News of Bangladesh, Shamim’s relatives alleged that Nishindara Union Parishad Member ABM Shafi and several others were involved in the incident. Shamim’s mother-in-law, Sobeda Begum, stated that he went to Barpur to attend the funeral of a relative. While walking around the area at night, Shafi and several others allegedly detained him on suspicion of theft and subjected him to beatings and torture throughout the night.
Reports suggest that at one point, the assailants allegedly cut the tendons of his leg before leaving him in a critical condition at an abandoned place. A village police member later rescued Shamim and took him to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital, where he died early Tuesday while undergoing treatment.
As news of Shamim’s death reached his relatives, they staged a protest in front of the Union Parishad Complex demanding the arrest of those responsible. The protest escalated as they blocked the road by placing tree logs on it. However, UP Member Shafi denied the allegations against him, stating he had been at home after being injured in a motorcycle accident on Saturday. He claimed, ‘I received calls from two people around 3:00 am saying that a thief was caught. I told them not to beat him and to keep him at the Union Parishad Complex. The allegations against me are false.’
Officer-in-Charge of Bogura Sadar Police Station, Ibrahim Ali, confirmed visiting the scene on Tuesday morning. ‘A youth was beaten to death after being suspected of being a thief,’ he remarked, adding that legal action will be taken against those involved.