Site engineer led the brutal killing: Rab

The brutal killing of a teenager in Mohammadpur was led by the site engineer of an under-construction building, where he was beaten to death by the construction workers, Rab said.

The Rapid Action Battalion arrested three persons, including the engineer, in different areas of the capital on Friday, Khandaker Al Moin, director of the legal and media wing of Rab, told a press briefing at the Rab Media Centre yesterday.

The arrestees are -- Mir Moazzem Hossain Pranto, 25, Firoz, 18, and Mostafizur Rahman, 35.

Akash Mia, 14, a seventh-grader at a local school, along with several friends, went into an under-construction building near Barab Government Primary School on Wednesday night.

Akash was trapped while his friends managed to escape when construction site workers chased them.

They later tortured him to death.

The Rab official said that Akash was unable to escape and was subsequently taken to the workers' quarters.

"It was there, at Moazzem's command, Akash was falsely accused of stealing an iron rod, subjected to medieval-style torture, suspended from a bamboo structure, and beaten with sticks, iron rods, and stumps throughout the night," said the Rab official.

When Akash's condition deteriorated significantly around 6:00am the following day, the arrestees informed his brother-in-law.

Akash's cousin rushed to the scene, rescued him with severe injuries, and brought him home. He succumbed to his injuries around 8:00am.

Rab said Moazzem, the site engineer overseeing the school's construction, not only orchestrated the torture but also recorded the entire incident on his mobile phone.

Firoz, a labourer, and Mostafizur, employed as a foreman at the construction site, actively participated in the torture of the victim.

Mohammadpur police have already arrested two people in connection with the incident.

Akash used to live with her aunt Dipa, as he lost his mother when he was nine months old, and his father remarried and abandoned his two children.

Dipa filed a murder case with Mohammadpur Police Station in this regard.

Jewel Mollah, brother-in-law of the deceased, thanked law enforcers for their quick action and demanded arrest of the rest people involved in the incident.