Two men beaten to death on suspicion of cattle theft in Gazipur

A video of the lynching went viral on social media

Two men have been beaten to death on suspicion of stealing cattle in Gazipur’s Kapasia Upazila.

One of them was lynched in the house of Chan Mia in Singhasree Union’s Namila village around 2am Friday, while the other was killed at a paddy field in neighbouring Baribari village, according to Sub-Inspector Md Arif of Kapasia Police Station.

The dead men were aged between 28-30 years but no further details about their identities could be known immediately. The video of the lynching went viral on social media.

A group of unidentified people entered Chan Mia’s property in the wee hours of Friday with the intention of stealing his cattle, said a local trader, who wished to remain anonymous.

When Chan Mia noticed what was happening, he yelled out for help and a group of villagers went after the suspected thieves. The mob caught one of them and fatally assaulted him, according to the trader.

“The suspected thief said his name was Hridoy. He was wearing a blue shirt.”

Meanwhile, the other suspect tried to hide in a paddy field in neighbouring Baribari village to evade the mob, but locals caught him and beat him to death.

“The villagers were on guard to ward off cattle thieves. They chased down the two men and beat them after the thieves went into the farmer’s house. Up to five cattle thieves fled the scene,” Singhasree Union Parishad Chairman Md Anwar Pervez said.

The two men injured in the mob beating were taken to the Kapasia Upazila Health Complex, where a doctor declared them dead, SI Arif said.

The bodies were sent to the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital morgue for an autopsy, he added.