Policemen come under mob beating!

A mob beat up four members of the police in Dhamrai of Savar on Tuesday, allegedly for demanding extortion from organisers of a musical event there.

The incident took place at Bardail of Dhamrai on Tuesday evening. Police, however, denied that they came under mob beating.

Locals said a musical evening was organised on the occasion of the wedding of Abbas Ali, son of Ansar Ali of Bhatirchar village, in an open space on the bank of Bangshi river.

Bhatirchar, a village of Singair upazila of Manikganj district, borders on Bardail village of Dhamrai in Savar, Dhaka.

Locals said about 4,000 villagers gathered there to enjoy the event.

Dhamrai police station assistant sub-inspectors Masud Rana and Liton Hossain  along with two constables went to the event in plainclothes around midnight on Tuesday.

The police officers asked the organisers if they had approval for the event and the organisers failed to show them any approval from the authorities.

The police then demanded Tk 100,000 from the organisers, threatening that they would arrest the singers if they are not paid the money.

When the organisers declined to give the money, policemen snapped the cords of the sound-system.

An irate group of spectators started assaulting the policemen.

Locals said one police officer and two constables fled the mob, jumping into the river and swam across the river and the other police officer cross the river using a boat.

On information, local Kulla union parishad chairman Kalipad Sarker and one of the woman members of the union parishad Salma Begum rushed to spot along with additional police members and rescued the police men.

UP member Salma Begum said she saw marks of assault on the body of the policemen when they rescued them.

UP chairman Kalipad said he heard about mob beating of police and he rescued them and sent them to the police station.

ASI Masud Rana and Liton Hossain, however, denied that there was any mob beating.

Talking to Prothom Alo, they said they know nothing about such an incident. They said they even don’t know where Bardail and Bhatirchar villages are located.

Dhamrai police station inspector (investigation) Sayed Al Mamun, however, admitted that ASI Masud and Liton went to the musical event, but said he know nothing about the mob beating.