Child Murder: Accused, Police Attacked and OC Withdrawn to 'Handle Situation'
Collected Photo
The entire village in Aditmari, Lalmonirhat, turned into a battlefield following recovery of a child's body. Villagers set fire to the suspect's house and vandalized police vehicles. At one point, villagers clashed with the police. The Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Aditmari Police Station was withdrawn amid the backlash.
The seven-year-old Nandini's body was found wrapped in a sack today (Tuesday) in the morning and dug up from a cornfield. She was the daughter of Nalini Kanta from the Falimari village in Aditmari Upazila.
Local residents and the girl's family said Nandini had been missing since yesterday afternoon. In the morning, locals grew suspicious after noticing soft soil in a cornfield next to the house. They dug there and found the body inside a sack. Tensions escalated when police arrived to recover the body.
Locals and the family alleged that a man named Bidhan Roy from the village raped and murdered the child. Police arrested him. At one point, villagers set fire to Bidhan's house.
During this time, the victim's family and locals accused the police of negligence. According to them, when they went to the police station last night to report the child missing, the OC did not take the matter seriously.
To control the situation, the Deputy Commissioner, Mohammad Rashedul Haque Main, and the Superintendent of Police (SP), Md. Asaduzzaman, arrived at the scene. Their presence further agitated the villagers. Police vehicles were vandalized. Police used sound grenades to disperse the crowd. At least 18 police officers were injured in the clashes between the two sides.
Lalmonirhat's Superintendent of Police, Asaduzzaman, said that Aditmari OC Nazmul Haque was withdrawn for failing to handle the situation. The accused is being interrogated in connection with the murder. Legal action will be taken soon.
The SP also informed that two three-member committees have been formed—one by the Deputy Commissioner and one by the District Police—to investigate the attack on the police.
