Farmer Tied to Tree and Beaten to Death for Refusing to Lease Out Land

District Correspondent

A farmer named Sohel Khan (35) was tied to a tree and beaten to death overnight in Bakerganj, Barisal, after being called a robber for not sharing his land.

Police recovered his body from the Char Kabai area on Sunday morning.

Eyewitnesses and relatives of the deceased said that the deceased Sohel’s home is in the Char Kabai area. He is a farmer by profession. On Saturday night, he was announced on the mosque’s loudspeaker and called a robber. Later, he was arrested and beaten up. After his death was confirmed, the torturers informed the police. Although he was tied to a tree in public and beaten to death, no one came forward to save him for fear of the attackers.

The deceased youth’s wife, Sajeda Begum, said, “A few days ago, local Shahin Hawlader, his brother Firoz Hawlader and some others asked my husband for land to cultivate watermelons in Kabai Char. When he refused, they called him from his house on Saturday night saying they had something to talk about. Then, around midnight, they tied him up in front of the mosque next to the house, beat him to death, and killed him.”

The victim’s daughter, Fatema Akter, said her father was innocent. He was framed as a robber and killed in a planned manner for not being given land for a watermelon field. We want justice for this murder. She alleged that the torturers are also threatening them.

Bakerganj Police Station OC Abul Kalam Azad said that police members went to the scene after receiving a call on 999 in the early hours of Monday morning.

Although the ‘robber’ was reported to have been arrested, the police went and found the body. It is being investigated whether there is any other reason behind the murder. The body has been sent to the Sher-e-Bangla Medical College morgue in Barisal for autopsy.

The accused in this matter, Shahin Hawlader or his brother Firoz Hawlader, has fled the area.