Jhalakathi youth 'tortured for 20 hrs' on theft charge

JHALAKATHI, Jan 06 (UNB): A young man has reportedly been tortured for 20 hours after being confined to a room of the local union parishad complex in Nalchiti upazila on charge of stealing a trawler.

Police rescued the victim, Selim Bepari, 20, son of Sultan Bepari of Bhabanipur village in the upazila, on Sunday morning and took him to the Nalchiti Police Station following treatment.

Locals said an engine-run trawler of Chunnu Mia, brother of former member of Nanchanmahal union parishad Nanna Miah, was stolen from the Bishkhali River on Friday night.

On Saturday afternoon, Chunnu Mia found the trawler along with Selim in the river at Dauri village in Sadar upazila.

Chunnu, his brother and their associates beat Selim and took him to the Nanchanmahal union parishad where they confined him to a room and tortured the youth throughout the night, the victim claimed while talking to reporters on Sunday.