Three women of the Garo ethnic group were publicly beaten by their landowner for allegedly failing to pay rent in due time.
The incident took place at Kalachadpur of Gulshan in the capital on Sunday.
The victims of the assault were identified as Subhra Ghagra, 35, and her daughters Jhumu Ghagra, 17, and Mou Ghagra, 25.
The tenants requested the owner to wait for a few more days when asked to pay rent on May 17, said Subhra Ghagra. They were facing financial hardships as her daughters were laid off from the beauty parlors where they worked due to the coronavirus situation.
When her daughters returned from a local kitchen market, they found the main entrance closed.
"The guard did not open the gate when I asked and kept us waiting for minutes," said Mou Ghagra.
After some time the house owner’s wife Fatema Begum and her son came down and beat up the tenants publicly, said Mou.
"Our dresses were torn and my little sister was strangled by the owner’s son," she said.
When their mother came down to see what was happening, she too was beaten, she added.
However, the landowner dismissed the incident as a "little scuffle" caused as a result of the tenants bringing guests in the house amidst the coronavirus pandemic, which he forbade.
“They were bringing in guests during the coronavirus situation, disregarding our instructions,” she said.
Her accounts stand in contrast to that of a witness, who said that he saw the landowner's son strangling one of the daughters and his wife slapping the other publicly.
The victims were only allowed to enter the building upon intervention from the police.
Sub-Inspector (SI) Md Belal of Gulshan Police Station said both parties lodged general dairies.
“I asked for CCTV footage from the landowner, and upon inspection we will go for action,” he said.
He added that footage of some men were obtained from CCTV but the purpose of their presence was thus far inconclusive.
