Teenager tortured to death
In April this year the High Court had upheld a verdict of death sentence for four perpetrators involved in the brutal torture and killing of 13-year old Samiul Islam Rajon in 2015. We had hoped that the verdict would act as a deterrent to such animalistic behaviour towards children. Regrettably, similar treatment was meted out to Sagor, an 18-year old scrap collector. He was brutally killed on suspicion of being a thief. The similarities between the two cases are uncanny. The boy was tied up to a pole and repeatedly battered and a video of his torture was captured on a cell phone by a perpetrator and uploaded on to social media. His body was dumped nearby and the police are now on the trail of the killers.
What these murders have highlighted is our apathy towards children who may be tortured at will and are considered to belong to that segment of society which is powerless to defend themselves. We have seen the surge in crimes against children with some 145 children raped in the first quarter of 2016 and some 50 children killed. Rajon's murder in 2015 highlighted the need for the formation of special tribunals that would deal with murder of minors which are becoming increasingly common in our society. Swift trials and verdicts are needed so that such predatory behaviour is discouraged and the common belief that children are easy prey dispelled. We hope that authorities will take into cognisance that this incident is not a random act of killing but an emerging societal law and order problem which needs to be tackled swiftly and decisively before it proliferates into a serious situation.
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