A landlord has beaten one of his tenants for not being able to pay rent due to the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The incident took place in Hosni Dalan area in old Dhaka’s Chawkbazar on Tuesday.
Police have arrested the owner of the house and his nephew in connection to the incident.
The arrestees are Raju Ahmed, 42, the owner of the house and his nephew Sohan, 20.
The victim Md Hannan, 50, who is a street food, cake and jhalmuri (mixed puffed rice) seller, said that he had been living with his family in the rented house for the last five years.
Even though he paid Tk12,500 monthly, he never had any problem before.
However, due to the recent coronavirus crisis, the cake and jhalmuri business has been shut down.
That is why he has been unable to pay rent for three months, he added.
For this reason, the owner of the house Raju locked Hannan's flat on Tuesday. Later, he got angry when Hannan asked him to open the door.
Hannan told Raju that this kind of problem did not happen before. He requested the landlord to take the money from the Tk40,000 he gave as advance, he further added.
Angered by this, the landlord first hit him on his chest and then beat him mercilessly.
His sons Al Amin, 24, and Saidul Islam, 20, came forward and tried to protect their father; but the landlord attacked them too, said Hannan.
He also said that police arrived at the spot after getting information and rescued them. Later, they were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment.
Hannan has filed a case against the landlord at the Chawkbazar police station.
Dhaka Metropolitan police’s Assistant Commissioner (Chawkbazar zone) Md Elias Hossain said: “A case has been filed in Chawkbazar police station on the basis of the victim's allegations.”
“Landlord Raju Ahmed and his nephew Sohan were immediately arrested for alleged involvement in beating and injuring them.”
He added saying: “The police made arrangements for the victims to stay in that house and ensured their safety.”
