Lalmonirhat teenager beaten mercilessly for ‘stealing a bottle of edible oil’

Police arrested a businessman for allegedly torturing a 15-year-old boy in Lalmonirhat town -- supposedly for stealing a two-litre bottle of edible oil.

Ashraf Ali Lal (58) was arrested from his home in Mission Intersection area around 11:30pm yesterday, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Lalmonirhat Sadar Police Station Mahfuz Alam confirmed.

Police arrested Ashraf Ali after a video of him torturing the teenager went viral on social media, sparking widespread criticism.

The video shows Ashraf Ali and three to four other persons repeatedly pushing the teenager to the ground and beating him mercilessly -- hitting his head, mouth and throat with their feet.

The boy pleaded to be released but no one came forward.

According to locals -- claiming to be eyewitnesses of the stealing incident -- the boy stole the bottle of oil from a battery-run easybike near the Trust Bank Mission Mor branch and Nandan Digital Lab yesterday afternoon.

Later, the boy was caught and handed over to Ashraf Ali, who has an office in the Mission Intersection area. The businessman did not hand over the boy to the police. Instead, he took the boy to his office and tortured him mercilessly.

Sekendar Ali, a local, said he had repeatedly requested Ashraf Ali to hand over the teenager to police but he did not pay heed.

The boy, a resident of Chandni Bazar area under Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila, remains missing since then.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Lalmonirhat Sadar Police Station Mahfuz Alam said that although no one had lodged any complaint about the incident, the businessman was detained and interrogated as the video went viral.

Besides, police are also trying to find the victim.

Others who were involved in torturing the boy will be brought to justice, the OC confirmed.