A 40-year-old man has died at a private hospital in Dhaka ten days after being severely beaten by a mob over theft allegations in the Kanchpur area of Sonargaon upazila, Narayanganj. The deceased, identified as Md Farooq Hossain, son of Seraj Uddin, was a resident of Lalati village under Kanchpur Union. Farooq succumbed to his injuries on Saturday night after spending nearly ten days on life support following the violent assault that occurred on 29 October.
The tragedy unfolded on the afternoon of 29 October when local resident Aminul Vendor, his nephew Amit Hasan, and several accomplices summoned Farooq from his residence and led him to Lalati Janata Bazaar. Upon arrival, the group detained Farooq and publicly accused him of stealing electrical wiring from Aminul Vendor’s home. Despite his protestations, the mob subjected him to a relentless physical assault in full view of bystanders, leaving him critically injured and bleeding at the market square.
Family members rushed to the scene after learning of the attack, rescuing Farooq and immediately admitting him to a local medical facility. As his physical condition deteriorated rapidly, he was transferred to a private hospital in the capital, where doctors placed him on life support. Despite intensive care efforts, he ultimately succumbed to his wounds on Saturday night. Following an autopsy, Farooq’s body was returned to his ancestral home in Lalati on Sunday night, 8 November, prompting emotional outcries from grieving relatives and neighbours who gathered to pay their respects.
Prior to Farooq’s death, his mother, Oheda Begum, filed a formal case with Sonargaon Police Station under Section 326 of the Penal Code, specifically naming Aminul Vendor, Amit Hasan, and several unidentified accomplices. Acting on the complaint, law enforcement officers conducted targeted operations and successfully arrested two key suspects listed in the case. Demanding capital punishment for all perpetrators involved in the public lynching, Oheda Begum reiterated that her son was brutally murdered in broad daylight before numerous witnesses.
Confirming the development, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Sonargaon Police Station, Muhammad Abdul Barik, stated that the existing grievous hurt case will now be formally upgraded to a murder case following the victim’s passing. The police chief assured the public that law enforcement will show zero tolerance to vigilantism, adding that active drives are underway to apprehend all remaining individuals who took the law into their own hands.
