Barbaric murder of a child – again!

There are no words to express our abhorrence and shock at the barbaric torture and killing of 10-year-old Sagar Barman, by co-workers of the factory he worked at in Narayanganj. The monsters who killed him did so by inserting an air pump into his rectum and pumping air into his abdomen which led to his horrible death. It is almost like the case of 12-year-old Rakib, who was murdered in an identical manner. In Rakib's murder case, two of the murderers have been sentenced to death by the court.

But despite the harshest possible punishment given by the court to Rakib's killers, the same kind of heinous assault on a child has taken place. It seems even the possibility of a death sentence has not acted as a deterrent to these perverted criminals.

Sagar's killing and that of Rakib and many other children should be wakeup calls to the country on the extreme risks under which thousands of children are exposed to because they are forced to work for a living. Child labour, especially the kind of labour that gives children no protection at all in terms of physical security and mental wellbeing , has to be abolished once and for all. Children like Sagar and Rakib were victims of not only demented fellow workers but of a system that is heartless and apathetic to the needs of the most precious members of society.

There has to be a massive social awakening in this country regarding the right of a child to live in a safe, caring environment and not be vulnerable to abuse. It is the government's responsibility to initiate such an endeavour.