Two Teenagers Brutally Assaulted in Separate Vigilante Attacks Over Alleged Thefts in Rajshahi and Lalmonirhat
Photo Collected
Two separate incidents of vigilante violence against teenage boys have sparked outrage after videos of the assaults circulated on social media. The incidents occurred in Durgapur, Rajshahi, and Kaliganj, Lalmonirhat, involving allegations of theft that led to public beatings.
In Rajshahi, a 14-year-old boy was reportedly tied to a tree and assaulted on Friday morning. In a viral video of the incident, the youth is seen restrained with his hands tied behind his back while being whipped. During the ordeal, an assailant is heard threatening to cut the boy’s toenails with a sickle if he continued to cry. The boy alleged during the assault that his father had coerced him into stealing a mobile phone and cash, claiming the father took the proceeds of the theft.
The accused attacker, Abdur Rashid, a local tea stall owner and the boy’s relative, claimed the teenager had previously stolen from his home a month ago. Rashid denied beating the child, despite visual evidence to the contrary, asserting that the boy had been restrained by local residents. The boy’s father, Anwar Hossain, dismissed the theft allegations as false and accused Rashid of forcing his son to implicate him under duress. He maintained that if his son had committed a crime, he should have been handed over to the authorities rather than being subjected to physical abuse. Inspector Rafiqul Islam of Durgapur Police Station stated that law enforcement is investigating the video and will take legal action once a formal complaint is filed.
Separately, in the Chaparhat area of Kaliganj, Lalmonirhat, a 15-year-old boy was tied to a bamboo pole and beaten by a mob on Thursday morning. The victim, a resident of the neighboring Hatibandha Upazila, had been visiting family in Kaliganj when he was accused of stealing a microphone from a local mosque. A 31-second video shows the boy being struck with sticks and subjected to kicks and slaps until he collapsed.
Following the viral spread of the footage, local authorities intervened. The victim’s mother filed a case at the Kaliganj Police Station, naming three individuals and approximately 20 to 25 unidentified suspects. According to the police, the boy was intercepted near the mosque, dragged inside, and held against his will before the public assault took place. The victim received medical treatment at the Kaliganj Upazila Health Complex. Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abu Siddique confirmed that the case has been formally recorded and that police are actively searching for the suspects involved in the attack.
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