A fifth grader was tied to a pillar and tortured over theft allegation at Dosto village of Chuadanga Sadar upazila on Sunday.
The victim is Arafat Rahman, 11, son of Monwar Hossain of the village and a student of Dosto Government Primary School.
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Locals said the incident occurred when Arafat went to a shop named Mayer Doa Fashion House near his school for buying tiffin.
As theft was quiet rampant there, shop owner Ali Ahmed tied up the boy to a pillar on suspicion of stealing money and beat him up.
However, Ali Ahmed, denied the allegation and said the boy was tied up for a while on charges of stealing money but he was not beaten.
Earlier, a student of the school stole money from his shop, he said.
Abdul Momin, the headmaster of the school, said the incident was really sad. “I went to the spot and freed my student after getting the news and no money was found from him,” he added.
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Local UP member Abu Saleh said, "I heard about it at night. Even if something is stolen, torturing a child is a violation of law.”
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Darshana police station AHM Lutfur Kabir said no complaint is yet to be received. Legal action will be taken after getting a complaint, the OC added.