MEHENDIGANJ, Bangladesh — An elderly man was beaten to death with chairs and sticks at a local arbitration meeting in Charhogla village in this upazila on Sunday afternoon, while police officers present at the scene were unable to stop the attack, authorities said.
The incident occurred around 4 p.m. on March 22. A video of the attack has spread on social media. The footage shows several men beating Khorshed Sikder with chairs and sticks. Police officers nearby attempted to halt the assault but ultimately failed to bring the situation under control.
Shortly after the incident, Jahangir Howlader, general secretary of Ward No. 1 of the Mehendiganj municipal unit of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was permanently expelled from the party as a named suspect. The expulsion was confirmed in a notice signed by municipal BNP convener Syed Riaz Shahin Liton and member secretary Riaz Uddin Chowdhury Dinu.
Police said the two families had been in a long-running dispute over about 50,000 taka in unpaid wages for house construction. A local arbitration meeting was held Sunday afternoon to settle the matter. At one point, the discussion turned into an argument and then into violence. Police arrived after receiving word of the attack.
Mehendiganj police Sub-Inspector Bashir Ahmed said efforts were underway to identify and arrest those involved, and that preparations were being made to file a case.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report