Nearly six months after the brutal killings of Rajon and Rakib, two other teenagers were reported to be brutally tortured on suspicion of stealing a mobile phone in Rajshahi last night.
One of the victims, Zahid Hasan, 15, has been admitted to Poba Upazila Health Complex, while Emon Ali, 13, an orphan, went into hiding in fear, Shariful Islam, officer-in-charge of Poba Police Station, told The Daily Star.
The brutes also filmed the torture incidents and released the victims after failing to prove their involvement in the stealing, our Rajshahi correspondent reports quoting police and witnesses.
Police constable Sagar, who is currently posted with Rapid Action Battalion, and a soldier, Nasir Uddin, also took part in the beating and were seen in the video, OC Shariful Islam told The Daily Star quoting locals.
Both of them were on leave and were supposed to join their workplaces today, said locals.
Zahid’s father Emran Hossain filed a case with Poba Police Station against 13 people including Sagar and Nasir. Police arrested Azizul Islam, one of the persons allegedly involved in the incident.
Emran, a rickshaw-puller, told reporters that Fazlur Rahman, a farmer of Chowbaria village, suspected that Zahid and Emon stole his son’s mobile phone on Friday.
Fazlur’s men picked up Emon from his residence in the morning and Zahid from Naogaon-Rajshahi road while he was going to visit his grandfather’s house by a rickshaw-van around 3:00pm.
“They kept the children confined till 10:00pm and brutally tortured them.
“We [Emran and his wife] cried in front of them for mercy. They returned my son with his face, hands, legs swollen and clotted blood in many parts of his body,” Emran said.
In the video footage, it was seen that Zahid was being beaten up with stick as he was lying on a bed with his hands and legs tied up. Emon was also beaten as he was tied up on a chair.
