Someone was singing, someone had a flute in their hands, and in the midst of ‘joy’, the young man was beaten to death

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Some were singing, some were playing the flute. A young man with two hands tied to a steel pipe was swinging in that ‘joy’. And he was being severely beaten. After a year and a half of investigation in the incident in the gate number two area of ​​Chittagong city, it has come up in the police charge sheet that the youth named Shahadat Hossain was beaten to death on the suspicion of being a mob robber. Later, his body was left in an auto-rickshaw half a kilometer away by the side of the drain.

The police have charged five people including a juvenile in this incident. They are Farhad Ahmed Chowdhury (43), Anisur Rahman (20), Mehdi Hasan (27) and Md. Majed (22). A separate charge sheet has been filed against the 16-year-old juvenile. On April 8, Panchlaish Thana-Police submitted the charge sheet to the Chittagong Court.

The deceased Shahadat Hossain was a resident of Nadna village of Panchbaria union of Sonaimuri upazila of Noakhali. He lived in Boiler Colony in BRTC area of ​​Kotwali police station in the city and worked in a shop in Falmondi. However, it is said in the charge sheet that there is a case of extortion against him.

On August 14, 2024, the police recovered Shahadat’s body from the side of the drain in Pravartak Mor area of ​​Panchlaish. His father saw a picture spread on social media. Aaron identified the body. The next day he filed a case against unknown persons in Panchlaish police station.

It is said in the statement of the case that on August 13, Shahadat left home for work. He had his last talk with his wife in the evening. After that, the family members started looking for him as he did not return home till late night. At one stage, his mobile phone was found switched off.

A 20-second video went viral on social media on September 21, almost a month after the body was recovered. It can be seen that some young people are singing regional songs of Chittagong, some are playing flute. A young man’s hands were tied between them, and the beating was going on around him.

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Within four days of the video going viral, the police arrested Farhad, Anisur and a teenager. Later, the juvenile admitted his involvement in the incident by giving a statement in court. He said that 15-20 people beat the young man on suspicion of robbery. At one point he also took part in the beating.

20 people have been made witnesses in the charge sheet. One of their witnesses is Mir Nazmul Hossain, a khichuri seller. He said that since August 5 there was no police on the roads, the students were controlling the traffic. On August 13, at around 11 pm, Shahadat was tied to a traffic signal and beaten up in Gate No. 2 area.

Deputy Inspector (SI) of Panchlaish Police Station, SM Safiul Azam Munshi, investigating officer of the case, said, based on the video and the statement, it has been confirmed that Shahadat was beaten to death on the suspicion of being a robber. Later his body was dumped elsewhere. Two others named Sohan and Asif ul Mejbah were identified but could not be charged as their full addresses were not available. Supplementary charge sheet will be given when address is available.

The father of the deceased. Harun said, “I want justice for those who beat my son to death.” I am a day laborer, my son was also a day laborer. What crime was he killed in such a way? Such an incident should not happen to any family.