A man who was reportedly murdered for confronting his cousin’s eve-teasers is now believed to have been killed because of an earlier conflict with his attackers.
The cousin sister at the centre of this version of the story denies the entire account of eve-teasing and says her cousin was killed because of a past conflict.
According to the initial account given by Mosharraf Hossain, the victim’s elder brother, Nasir Hossain, 25, was brutally attacked in the West Bhasantek area of Mirpur on Friday night because he had confronted his cousin’s tormentors. He succumbed to his injuries in the early hours of Saturday at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).
Eight or nine men including Abul, Bablu, Mamun and Kana Alam were named as the alleged eve-teasers in this account of the incident.
The deputy commissioner of Mirpur police Md Nisarul Arif told the Dhaka Tribune: “We interrogated the girl and her father, and they denied the account of eve-teasing. We are assuming that the murder happened due to a past conflict.”
Investigators say Nasir met his cousin at her father’s house during the Eid holiday. She reportedly told Nasir that ruffians had beaten up her husband, Sohag, because he had married her despite her parents’ objections. Nasir is reported to have inquired about the identity of Sohag’s attackers.
Police say Nasir’s cousin married Sohag, a painter, three months ago. They say she lives at her in-laws’ house because her parents do not approve of the marriage, and that she does not venture out of the house much.
The police deputy commissioner said: “We have learned that Nasir was himself a criminal and that he knew his assailants. On Friday evening, Nasir met the miscreants on the road and argued with them over the beating of his cousin’s husband.”
“A man named Chakka then led Nasir away. Locals later reported seeing 8 or 9 men beating Nasir with GI-pipes. They did not hit his head but they pummelled his body. Locals say Nasir’s assailants were accusing him of being a police informer as they beat him,” the deputy commissioner added.
The officer-in-charge of Bhasantek police station said: “Nasir died at DMCH and his remains were sent to Dhaka Medical College morgue for a post mortem.”
Mosharraf filed a case with the police station against seven named and six unnamed people in this connection, he said.
