Police have determined that three minors, beaten up yesterday by a mob of adults at Suhrawardy Udyan on suspicion of “hurling crude bombs,” are innocent.
Commentators have come down hard on the culture of violence that allowed the victimisation of the three young boys to happen.
Hossain, Manik and Ripon – all around 12 years old – were freed by the police after being quizzed and interrogated, Shahbagh police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shirajul Islam said.
Professor Rounaq Jahan, an eminent political scientist, said children had become the victims of political violence, which she called a “very alarming” development.
“Why does the mob take responsibility into its own hands? Because of the sense that law enforcement agencies will not deliver justice,” she said.
“This sort of behaviour is also a violation of human rights, in particular, children’s rights. In many countries when there is escalating violence, children get caught up in it and are sometimes used to carry out acts of violence. We must take precautions to see to it that our children do not get used by different party activists,” Rounaq said.
The crowd had handed the minors over to police on Saturday afternoon after two people, one of the boys and street vendor Selim, were injured in a blast at the park.
Following the explosion, some youths who were playing cricket nearby saw the three boys running and noticed that Hossain’s hand was smeared with blood.
“They assumed the boys had blasted the bombs and that Hossain had injured his hand in the process,” the OC said.
Wahida Banu, executive director of Oporajeyo Bangladesh, a non government organisation working with distressed children said: “Every existing law regarding the rights of children has clearly said a child cannot be tortured under any circumstance.
“If a child commits a crime without knowing the consequences or under the influence of adults, society has to correct them and convince them not to do it again.”
“In this incident, these poor children were the victims of circumstance. I think if they were not street children, those who assaulted them would think twice before beating them up. Street children have no guardian around to protest,” Wahida said.
She said: “This incident will haunt them throughout their lives. They will not easily believe their elders. This incident may even make them vindictive and violent in the future.”
“Every child lives in a world of dreams. This incident could make them think like criminals. Their guardians should take them to see a psychiatrist as soon as possible. But I do not know whether that will be possible for their parents,” she said.
She said people were losing a sense of morality, adding: “The ongoing political unrest has made people feel vulnerable. The political culture must change.”
The mob gave them a harsh beating and handed them over to police.
Police sent Hossain to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) where he received primary treatment.
Hossain, whose hand was injured, said: “A man threw the bomb and it did not burst, so I thought it was a ball and threw it, but then it went off.”
The OC said the incident was a misunderstanding: “Actually, the children come to the park to collect plastic waste to sell. We handed them over to their parents.”
The youths and bystanders who beat up the minors were not found at Suhrawardy Udyan yesterday.
Vendors operating in the vicinity of the incident claimed not to know anything about the mob beating.
Eminent rights activist Sultana Kamal said: “We very often have seen the beating of child pickpockets. But this culture has intensified. People have become desperate and a culture of taking the law into one’s own hands has become prominent.”
People, she said, feel insecure and are fearful.
The culture of justice is not well established in the country, the rights activist explained.
The rights activist said mob violence was a projection of the desperate and confrontational political culture of society.
“Intolerance has become so prominent that political parties have also become violent. Violence has become the character of this society,” she said.
