Brutality on child for leaving job

A child worker, mercilessly beaten by his former employer in Mission Intersection area of the town on Sunday, is undergoing treatment at Lalmonirhat Sadar Hospital.

The victim is Harez Ali, 13, son of Faridul Islam and Hasina Begum of Khochabari in the district town.

“I left my job as a trainee at a Thai furniture shop at Mission Intersection, after my trainer craftsman Abu Jafar gave up the job there on Thursday. On Sunday afternoon, shop owner Rabbi Islam forcibly took me from our home to his shop. Tying me to a pole, he beat me mercilessly with iron rod and wooden stick,” said Harez.

“The boy is being treated for injuries in his legs, hands, back and face as he was beaten with iron rod and wooden stick. The boy is now out of danger but he will need treatment for several days,” said Dr Rezaul Islam, medical officer of Lalmonirhat Sadar Hospital's emergency department.

Furniture craftsman Abu Jafar, a resident of Chandni Bazar area in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila, said, “I and my trainee Harez gave up job due to low payment but the shop owner was trying to make us rejoin the job. He also threatened me.”

Harez's mother Hasina Begum said, “Although my son studied up to Class VII, I allowed him to join work at the furniture shop three months ago due to our poverty. I demand justice for the brutal torture on my son.”

Contacted, Rabbi Islam said, “The matter is a trivial one and it should not be a headache for journalists.”

Moniruzzaman Monir, general secretary of Bangladesh Sangjukta Sramik Federation's Lalmonirhat district unit, said the federation will provide all kinds of support to the tortured child worker in legal battle against the torturer.

Lalmonirhat Sadar Police Station OC Mahfuz Alam said they will take action if a written complaint is filed.