<i> Land grabbers torture old man, beat up his wife</i>

BRUTALITY UNTHINKABLE! Septuagenarian Firoz Gazi remains tied to a tree in scorching heat of the summer on Thursday as criminals gave him the 'punishment' for not giving in to their demand for handing over possession of his homestead pond at Biralaxmi village in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira district.Photo: STAR

Two days after the barbaric torture on a 70-year-old old man and his wife at East Biralaxmi village in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira district on Thursday, no case has been filed in the face of threat by the offenders.
The criminals assaulted Firoz Gazi, 70, of East Biralaxmi village, tied him to a coconut tree in scorching heat under the sun for two hours and beat up his wife when she came to give drinking water to her captive husband, then panting with thirst.
Locals said Arshad Gazi of the same village was trying to grab the homestead of Firoz Gazi for long.
As he refused to give in, Arshad and his men on several occasions tortured him and threatened him with 'dire consequences', they said.
A group of people led by Arshad Gazi, Yasin Ali, Ashraf and others went to take possession of a pond owned by the victim on Thursday morning.
As the victim tried to resist, the attackers assaulted him and tied him to a coconut tree, making him stand in the scorching heat under the sun from 10:00am to 12 noon. They also beat up his wife when she came to give him drinking water, locals said.
Hearing the incident, local union parishad member Rafiqul Islam rushed to the spot and rescued Firoz at noon. The victim was admitted to a local clinic.
"The culprits are now threatening to kill me and my family members if we file any case against them,” Firoz Gazi said.
He demanded that the higher authorities concerned take action against the offenders.
Contacted, Shyamnagar police station officer in-charge Kazi Jalal Uddin said, "We heard the barbaric incident but nobody came to file a case against the culprits. I have sent a police officer to the spot to investigate the matter today [Saturday]. After his report, stern action will be taken against those involved in the incident."