Toufiq Was Killed for Filming BNP Activist’s Acts of Abuse, Colleagues Say

Staff Reporter

After his father’s death, 20-year-old Toufiq Hossain came to Gazipur from Gaibandha to meet the family’s needs and earn a living. He had hoped to work in a garment factory and take care of the family. But the cruel reality crushed that dream. During the movement for wage increase of garment workers in Gazipur, he was brutally beaten for the ‘crime’ of recording the violence of BNP’s thugs on his mobile phone, according to his colleagues.

Finally, on Tuesday afternoon, November 3, while undergoing treatment at Shin Shin Japan Hospital in Uttara, Dhaka, Tarun Toufiq left for his homeland, never to return. He returned to his village as a corpse on Tuesday night.

The deceased, Toufiq, was the son of the late Tabibar Rahman Tabi Khan of Chhaygharia village in Kochshahar union of Gobindaganj upazila of Gaibandha. He was a student of the 2023 SSC batch of Chhaygharia Multipurpose High School in Gobindaganj. He used to work at the local ‘Laila Style Garments’ in a rented house in Banglabazar area of ​​Gazipur.

According to local and eyewitness sources, on Monday, November 2, hundreds of garment workers were protesting in front of ‘Noman Territory Limited’ located in Banglabazar area of ​​Gazipur, demanding an increase in minimum wage. At one point, a rickshaw puller passing by suddenly shouted the slogan ‘Joy Bangla’, and the BNP and its affiliated organizations leaders and activists present there got angry and surrounded him and started beating him.

A young man named Toufiq, who was at the scene, went to record the beating on his mobile phone. When BNP leaders and activists saw the incident, they attacked Toufiq, asking him, “Why are you recording?” They surrounded him and beat him severely, seriously injuring him.

Taufiq, who suffered a severe head injury, was rescued and taken to the hospital and admitted to the ICU (intensive care unit). After a long period of life-or-death, doctors declared him dead on Tuesday morning.

When Toufiq’s body arrived at his village home in Chhaygharia around 10 pm on Tuesday, tears welled up among his relatives and villagers.

Toufiq’s elder brother Harun Mia and uncle Bachchu Mia said, “After his father’s death, Toufiq went to Gazipur to support his family. He was the victim of this brutal attack while making a video during the movement.”

Taufiq’s school teacher Pradeep Kumar and his classmates strongly condemned the murder and demanded the immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of those involved.

Gobindaganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md. Mahfuz Alam said that Toufiq’s body reached the village on Tuesday night and was buried at the family graveyard after the funeral prayer on Wednesday morning.

Kochshahar Union Parishad Chairman Md. Zahurul Haque said that the sudden death of Toufiq has cast a shadow of grief over the entire union.

On the other hand, regarding the incident, Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operations) Mohammad Belayet Hossain said, “We have learned that a worker was seriously injured and later died during a clash between workers and outsiders over the closure of the factory. However, no police personnel were present at the time of the incident.”

This brutal and tragic fate of a young garment worker has created extreme anger among the locals. Concerned circles have strongly demanded an immediate impartial investigation to identify the culprits and bring them to justice.

Meanwhile, BNP leaders and activists have been seen spreading propaganda in an attempt to cover up the incident. Many of BNP’s top leaders have been seen on various platforms, including social media, shifting the blame for the incident to a different sector and blaming the Awami League.