Case filed over torture of Natore BCL leader

Chhatra League (BCL) leader Faisal Hossain Kador had stepped out of his house just to check whether TCB (Trading Corporation of Bangladesh) products were being sold. He had no idea what was about to happen to him. As he reached the main road, Chhatra Dal leader Zubair saw him — and what followed was horrifying.

Kador was brutally tortured. He was forced to lie upside down on the footrest of a rickshaw while the attackers put their feet on his body and paraded him around the town, all the while beating him.

This incident, which took place in Natore town on Sunday (April 20), has now gone viral on social media. After overcoming fear for their lives and home, Kador’s family finally filed a case on Monday (April 21) at Natore Sadar Police Station. The complaint was lodged by Kador’s father, Khairul Alam Liton, a resident of Khanai Khali in the town.

Kador, 22, is the former General Secretary of Ward No. 4 Chhatra League in Natore Municipality (the student organization currently banned by the interim government). The case alleges that members of Chhatra Dal tortured him because he refused to pay extortion money.
Natore Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mahbubur Rahman told Views Bangladesh on Tuesday (April 22) that no one had been arrested yet, but they were trying hard.

According to the complaint, Chhatra Dal activists led by SM Zubair — along with Rimon (President of Ward No. 7 Chhatra Dal), Naim (General Secretary), and members Pilot and Mithil — attacked Kador. Five to six other unidentified individuals were also involved. All of them are residents of the town.

Zubair was the president of the Chhatra Dal unit at Nawab Siraj-Ud-Dowla Government College in Natore. After the case was filed, the central Chhatra Dal dissolved the college committee on Monday night.

The accused, including Zubair, are currently on the run and could not be reached for comment.
Family members said that around 11 AM on Sunday, Chhatra Dal members attacked Kador in Kanai Khali area of the town, demanding Tk 20,000 in extortion. When his cousin Fahim tried to help, he too was beaten and forced to leave. Kador was then put in an auto-rickshaw, laid upside down on the footrest, and tortured while being driven around the city. He was later taken to a garage near Hafrastar, where he was beaten again.

Eventually, Kador’s parents came to the spot and pleaded to take him to the hospital. The attackers allowed them to take Kador, but only after making them sign a blank sheet of paper.

Relatives claimed the attackers threatened the family not to file a case. They said if a case was filed, they would kill Kador and destroy their house.