‘Chilli powder rubbed on wounds, dirty water forced down their throats’

Relatives of the two men who were beaten to death by a mob on suspicion of theft in Munshiganj have alleged that the victims were brutally tortured before they were murdered early Wednesday.

“They rubbed chilli powder on their wounds and forced them to drink dirty water,” the mother-in-law of one of the deceased said, describing the horrific ordeal.

The two victims -- Sagar, 25, son of Farhad Mia, and Chhanarul, 20, son of Shahidul Islam, residents of Goalimandra village -- were attacked by locals in Louhajang upazila in the dead of the night and later declared dead after being taken to a local upazila health complex.

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Two killed in ‘mob attack’ over theft in Munshiganj

“My son went to call his friend during sehri. Some people caught him and beat him to death. They killed my child. My precious son is gone...,” Chhanarul’s mother Rokhsana told The Daily Star in a trembling voice.

She was sobbing uncontrollably, sitting in her small shack.

A member of the Bede community, Chhanarul was the second of three siblings.

Still struggling to contain her grief, Rokhsana said her son had never been accused of any wrongdoing.

“They suspected him of theft and caught him. But there was never any complaint against him. Those who beat him to death are criminals. I demand the death penalty for them,” she said.

Chhanarul earned a living by selling boiled eggs door to door. He lived with other members of the Bede community in makeshift shacks along the bank of a nearly dried-up river in the area.

This correspondent also spoke with the wife of the other deceased, Sagar. Sagar left behind four children, the youngest being only three months old.

“My husband drove an auto-rickshaw. During sehri he went out to start his work. While walking to the garage, people caught him on suspicion of theft and beat him to death,” said Sagar’s widow, Jannatul.

“I was asleep. In the morning I woke up and learned that my husband had been killed.”

Sagar’s mother-in-law Aklima said, “They [the mob] hurt them and rubbed chilli powder on their wounds. They forced them to swallow dirty water. How could one kill another by making them go through such torture? Are they even human? Only Allah knows what they were made of!” she said.

Now she worries about the wellbeing of her daughter and her four grandchildren.

Officer-in-Charge of Louhajang Police Station Monirul Islam said a case has been filed over the incident.

“Chhanarul’s mother Rokhsana filed the case with Louhajang Police Station, naming nine people and accusing 15-20 unidentified accused,” he said.

“So far six suspects have been arrested and the court sent them to jail. Operations are ongoing to arrest the remaining accused.”