Killers could be seen on video, yet police aren’t arresting them, slain Ruplal’s wife says
The people who killed her husband can be seen in video footage. Yet they remain at large. The police should arrest them. She does not even know how many people have been accused in the case; she has not been to the police station, officers came to her home for her signature. Those seen in the video are the ones who killed her husband.
Bharati Rani, widow of Ruplal Das said those on Friday morning.
Ruplal Das from Ghonirampur village in Kursha union was beaten to death in a mob attack at Bottola Burirhat in Soyar union of Taraganj upazila last Saturday night.
In the same incident, his relative Pradip Lal from Charan Balua village in Mithapukur was also killed. Ruplal earned his living repairing shoes in the local market while Pradip Lal was a rickshaw-van puller.
One week after the mob beating and murder, the victim’s family members expressed frustration and anger over the police’s apparent inaction in arresting the identified attackers.
Bharati Rani said the assailants are clearly visible in the video and their names and addresses are widely known. She wants the real culprits to be arrested and brought to justice, but insists that no innocent person should be harassed.
Several witnesses said around 20–25 men from four nearby villages, Burirhat, Paikarpara, Balapur and Rahimapur, which are within 1.5 km of the scene, took part in the beating. The faces are clearly visible in videos circulating on social media. Yet the case has been filed against 700 people.
Speaking about this, Ruplal’s son Joy Das said, “I don’t know exactly how many have been accused. But those in the video should be arrested. They’ve detained four. Why aren’t the rest being caught? They’re not taking any action. Will we get justice or not?”
A visit to the area showed that after the case was filed against 700 people, males have left villages fearing arrest.
Taraganj unit Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) general secretary Mehedi Hasan said, “Only a handful, 20 to 25 people, were involved with the incident, not so many. The case against 700 was filed as part of a business.”
Former Kursha Union member Golam Mostafa said, “Ruplal was a very gentle, decent man. Yet he was brutally beaten to death. After we staged a human chain demanding justice, police detained a few people, but then stopped taking action. None of those seen in the video have been arrested.”
Speaking about the allegations, Taraganj police station officer-in-charge MA Faruq rejected the claim that police were not conducting raids.
He said, “The identified suspects had fled the area. That’s why they haven’t been caught.”
Responding to a question about filing the case against 700 people, he stated, “The plaintiff made the allegation and we registered the case. No innocent person will be harassed.”
According to Ruplal’s family, his daughter Nupur Rani’s marriage was being arranged with a young man from Shyampur, Mithapukur. They were to finalise the date last Sunday. Pradip Lal, husband of Ruplal’s niece, set off the previous evening from Mithapukur for Ruplal’s home, pedalling his own van. As he did not know the route through the villages, he reached Kazirhat and phoned Ruplal.
Meeting him there, the two set off together for Ghonirampur. But several youths stopped them when they reached Bottola on the Taraganj–Kazirhat road around 9:00 pm. Some small plastic bottles were taken from a sack on Pradip Lal’s van. An argument broke out, drawing a crowd. Rumours spread that they were thieves.
One man sniffed the bottles, then fell to the ground theatrically, claiming to be overcome. He was carried away, further inflaming the crowd. Over a hundred people gathered and began beating Ruplal and Pradip Lal, later taking them to the Burirhat High School field.
Witnesses said police arrived but left without rescuing them. Nearly an hour later they were taken to hospital, where one died before arrival and the other a few hours later.