Lalmonirhat AL leader arrested for torturing teenager

A union-level Awami League leader was arrested on charge of torturing a 14-year-old boy after tying him to a tree on in Kaliganj upazila of Lalmonirhat.

Shamsul Alam, UP chairman and AL general secretary of Ward 8 of Bhotmari union, was arrested from his home at Jamirbari village in Kaliganj upazila early today, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kaliganj Police Station Golam Rasul said this morning.

The OC said some locals apprehended a 14-year-old boy at Jamirbari village, accusing him of stealing a part of a tube-well on April 2.

Then a group led by Shamsul Alam tied the boy to a tree and tortured him. A video of the torture went viral on social media.

Later, the victim's maternal uncle along with some other locals rescued the teenager and admitted him to Kaliganj Upazila Health Complex.

"My nephew is not involved with the theft. He never steals anything. But he was brutally tortured. There are torture marks all over his body," the uncle said.

The OC said the uncle filed a case in this regard and police took prompt action.

Some four to five other people were also involved with the incident but they are absconding, the OC said, adding that drives are on to arrest them.