Even after two days, police are yet to take any decision about who will investigate the matter regarding the rescue of a youth from a floating sack in the Buriganga River.
Both Chawkbazar and Keraniganj model police stations are playing blame game and trying to hand over the investigation charge to each other, leaving the mystery behind the incident unsolved.
However, victim Mohammad Sohel, 25, who is now undergoing treatment at Casualty Ward of Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital, finally gave a hint about the attack on him.
Sohel in a low voice told the Dhaka Tribune that he lent Tk20,000 to one of his co-workers Amin, a resident of Shahidnagar in Keraniganj, around six months back. But Amin was not paying back the loan even after repeated requests, he said.
On Wednesday evening, Sohel said, Amin asked him to come to Shahidnagar saying that he would pay the money back. Sohel was waiting until 11pm as Amin told him that a man would come and pay off the loan, he said.
Later, Amin took him to a solitary place where eight youths along with Amin started beating him up. Later, they took him to a vacant room where he lost consciousness and found him in the hospital bed next morning, Sohel added.
Victim’s father Jalaluddin Howlader said Sohel and his elder brother came to the capital from their native village in Patuakhali five years back. Although they tried to set up in business, they finally started selling fruits in Badamtali area, he said.
Sohel used to live in a mess in Boubazar area of Keraniganj. A couple of months back, Sohel started working as a construction worker in Jinjira area.
Quoting his son, Jalal said some youths put Sohel inside a plastic sack and threw him into the river on Thursday. The youths thought that he was dead as they beat him up mercilessly with local weapons, he added.
Truck driver Siddique Hossain, who lives in the area, spotted the sack, rescued Sohel in an unconscious state and took him to the hospital in a critical condition, said Jalal. Soon after the incident, he said, some policemen came from Chawkbazar police station, but they did not come back yet.
He claimed that the attackers tried to kill his son once again. “We will file a case in this regard after Sohel gets well,” he added.
Azizul Islam, officer-in-charge of Chawkbazar police station, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday evening that as the jurisdiction came under Keraniganj police station, their officials would not investigate the case.
But Mohammad Mojibur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Keraniganj model police station, said they came to know about it from journalists. “We know that Chawkbazar police are looking into the matter. We will definitely investigate the case if anyone files complaint to us,” he added.
No case was lodged and no arrest made in this regard till filing of this report on yesterday evening.
