Images of man beating woman in Sylhet go viral, trigger protests

Several images of a man beating up a woman in broad daylight in Sylhet’s busy Ambarkhana have gone viral, triggering an outpouring of condemnation and protests in social media.

Many have demanded arrest of the man, identified as Topu Ahmed, owner of a tailoring shop.

Images show Ahmed slapping a burqa-clad woman even as she appears to be apologising. Many stood by and watched the assault.

bdnews24.com’s Sylhet correspondent said the incident took place around Tuesday noon.

Ahmed is the brother of local Awami League leader Sheikh Tofael Ahmed Seful.

He was taken to local police station after the incident but was released after a while.

When witnesses asked Ahmed why he was beating up the woman, he told them that the woman worked at his tailoring shop.

He claimed she had taken a piece of cloth for sewing several days ago but did not return it.

He beat her up on Tuesday after she said something ‘indecent’, he further claimed.

But the woman alleged Ahmed had not paid her for several months and she was pleading for the dues.

On Tuesday, when she came to Ahmed for the outstanding payment, the tailoring shop owner swore at her before beating her up in the street.

Witnesses said Constable Najim Uddin took Ahmed to Ambarkhana police outpost after the incident.

Uddin said he took them to the outpost after seeing a number of people surrounding a man and a woman. “I don’t know what happened after that,” he told bdnews24.com.

Airport Police Station OC Gausul Hossain said they let the two go after they reached an understanding.

“The woman did not file any complaint,” he said adding they would “take actions” if they received any complaint.

The pictures, circulated a few days after a video showing a teenage boy assaulting a schoolgirl in Habiganj streets, evoked much criticism.

Ganajagaran Mancha spokesperson Imran Sarker shared images of Tuesday’s assault in his official Facebook page, dubbing it “barbaric”.

He demanded the man’s arrest and urged the locals to nab the attacker and turn him over to police.

Social media users also slated the bystanders.

A user said the people who stood by and watched the woman getting beaten did not ‘deserve to be called human’. “They, too, should be put on trial,” the user wrote.

Some others blamed the lack of punishment for the offenders for the recurrence of such crimes.

“Such crimes will continue to take place until punishments are meted out to the offenders,” wrote one user.