A 16-year-old boy was allegedly beaten to death by his employer in Tongi, Gazipur on Monday morning.
Police recovered the body of the victim, Mozammel Hossain Maju, yesterday morning and sent it Gazipur Shahid Tajuddin Ahmed Medical College Hospital for an autopsy.
Maju was from Uttar Tarar Char in Narsingdi district’s Shibpur upazila, police said. He used to live with his parents in a rented house in Tongi.
He was likely killed by his former employer Sumon, who tried to pass the incident off as a suicide, said Sub-Inspector Abul Khayer of Tongi model police station, quoting the victim’s family.
This is the latest addition to the recent killings of minors via brutal torture in the country.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday, Maju’s father Jamal Uddin said he had been notified by police that his son had been killed.
“I did not know that Maju had been beaten to death. I thought he was at work. Police came to me this [yesterday] morning and told me about his death,” he said.
Jamal said he had gastrovascular disease and was unable to work to earn livelihood; Maju and his mother worked at scrap metal shops in the area to run the household.
“Maju had been working at Sumon’s in College Gate area for about seven months. For the past few days, Maju was ill and could not go to work. Yesterday [Monday] morning, Sumon and his general manager Chisty Sumon came to our house and took Maju to their shop saying they had work for him. And then this morning, police told me my son had been beaten to death,” Jamal said.
“I did not even see his body until police was taking him to the hospital for an autopsy, wrapped up in white cloth.”
Locals said after taking Maju to his shop, Sumon tied Maju with chains and held him captive the entire day.
“At night, Sumon and his men beat my son with steel rod and killed him,” Jamal claimed. “Then they hang his body with a rope to make it look like my son had committed suicide.
“He was my only child. I want justice for my son,” a crying Jamal said.
Police said they had been tipped off about the incident and found his body in Sumon’s shop early morning yesterday.
There were bruises on Maju’s body, they added.
“We will know what happened after we receive the autopsy report,” Sub-Inspector Abul Khayer told the Dhaka Tribune.
Since word spread about Maju’s alleged murder, Sumon and his men have been in hiding, sources said. Sumon’s mobile phone was found switched off as well.
No case in this regard has been filed yet. Police said they would proceed with the investigation as per Maju’s father’s decision.