Teen beaten to death on theft suspicion in Jatrabari

A teenage boy named Bappi, 15, was beaten to death on suspicion of theft in Mirhajirbagh area of Jatrabari in the capital.

Late on Tuesday night, several locals allegedly took him from his house and tortured him. On Wednesday evening, they left him unconscious on the road, and he died on the way to hospital.

On Thursday morning November 13, police recovered his body and sent it to Dhaka Medical College morgue for autopsy. Before that, the victim’s mother Parul Begum filed a murder case with Jatrabari police station. Police have arrested a woman named Fauzia Rowshan Akter Preeti in connection with the incident.

Bappi was the son of rickshaw puller Shahjahan and factory worker Parul Begum of Kadamtala village in Sharankhola, Bagerhat. He lived with his parents in Premgoli of Dholairpar and worked at a local factory.

Bappi’s elder brother Parvez said that on Tuesday night, locals named Kapshi Russell, Molla Shuvo and Shakib came to their house accusing Bappi of stealing money and a prepaid card. They took him to a club room on the ground floor of a house in Abu Haji Mosque lane and beat him throughout the night.

On Wednesday morning, they brought him home demanding the stolen items. Finding nothing, they took him away again and continued the torture. Later in the evening, they left him on the road unconscious, and he died on the way to hospital.

Bappi’s father Shahjahan said, “Even if my son committed a crime, they could have handed him to police. Why kill him with such torture?”

Sub-inspector Asaduzzaman Jewel of Jatrabari police station said primary investigation suggests the boy died from torture. Efforts are underway to arrest the others involved.