Man beaten to death by mob over ‘theft’ in Manikganj

Authorities say the incident is being probed

A man has been beaten to death by local residents in Manikganj’s Singair Upazila after allegedly being caught breaking into a house.

The incident took place in the early hours of Monday in Bandail (Ziyanagar) village of Shayesta Union, according to Fahim Asjad, senior assistant superintendent of police of Singair Circle.

He said the body had been recovered from the scene and the incident appeared to have centred on a theft.

The victim, identified only as Rajib, 40, was from Dhaka district’s Nawabganj Upazila.

Locals said the break-in took place between 2am and 3am on Monday at the home of Mohammad Hakim Ali in Ziyanagar village.

Rajib allegedly cut through the window grill of a tin-roofed room to get inside, while four or five accomplices waited outside.

He then passed cash and gold jewellery to those waiting, residents claimed.

At some point, Hakim – the head of the household - realised what was happening and tried to intervene, leading to a scuffle in which he was injured.

Locals then took Hakim to Singair Upazila Health Complex for treatment.

Following the incident, locals detained Rajib and beat him, leaving him dead on the spot.

A local, identified only as Alamin, said Rajib had faced multiple theft and robbery allegations in the area.

Singair Police chief Md Mazaharul Islam said the body was being sent to the morgue for a postmortem and that an investigation was under way, with preparations for filing a case also in progress.