Cops beat man for asking a question
His only “mistake” was to ask a cop how long he would keep commuters waiting at a traffic signal.
Furious at his query, three constables dragged him from a rickshaw and beat him hard.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. As he fell on the floor of the makeshift police box at the capital's Panthapath signal, the policemen kicked him all over.
They kept beating him until passers-by rescued the man, aged about 25. But by that time, he could hardly stand on his feet.
This correspondent, who witnessed the incident, could not learn his name as some people carried him on a rickshaw and took him to a hospital.
“I heard the youth just ask a traffic constable why he was not letting them pass the signal. The cop scolded him and an argument followed,” said Mofiz, who saw it all unfold before his eyes around 2:00pm.
“A man can't beat another man like this,” he said.
In protest, passers-by gathered around the police box and demanded action against the cops.
Like the youth, hundreds of people remained stuck at Green Road Traffic signal as police kept vehicles and rickshaws moving towards Farmgate stranded longer than usual, as the traffic was heavy.
In the face of public protest, police at one stage kept constable Kalam, one of the three who beat the youth, confined in the police box.
But the agitated public kept demanding action against them.
Officer-in-charge of Kalabagan Police Station Mohammad Iqbal reached the spot around 2:15pm.
“All of you leave, except only two,” he shouted at the crowd.
But no one listened to him. He responded by picking up a stick and started hitting people indiscriminately. His fellow officers followed him.
Motahar, a cook at Health and Hope Hospital, suffered head injuries in the beating.
Contacted, the OC later denied beating anyone and claimed he went there only to control the situation.
Comments