Two brothers were killed and another individual was critically injured in a mob attack after an eight-year-old missing girl was found dead in Sadar upazila of Manikganj on Thursday night.
The deceased were identified as Pannu Mia, 48, an auto-rickshaw driver, and his brother Fazlu Rahman, 28. Pannu’s son Nazmul sustained critical injuries in the incident.
According to locals, Atika, daughter of Dudul Mia of Bonparil, went missing around 5:00pm on Thursday, prompting her family to launch a frantic search, including announcements over loudspeakers and appeals on social media.
A cousin of the victim later claimed she saw Nayeem, 15, younger son of Pannu Mia, taking the girl away. When confronted by locals, Nayeem allegedly confessed and indicated that the girl was in a nearby maize field.
Around 10:00pm, locals rushed to the field and found the girl dead with her hands and legs tied, triggering outrage in the area. Nayeem managed to flee from the scene.
Angry locals then swooped on his house and detained Pannu, Fazlu and Nazmul.
They later gave them a good beating, leaving the former two dead on the spot and the latter injured. The injured was taken to hospital.
On information, police rushed in and brought the situation under control.
Superintendent of Police of the district Md Sarwar Alam said police were investigating the incident and had deployed additional forces in the area.