Faridpur man Delowar alleges his eye was gouged out in Bara Madhabpur; locals counter with mob-beating claim

A brutal incident has taken place in Bara Madhabpur of Faridpur Sadar upazila, in which a man named Md Delowar Hossain Parvez Khan (41) had an eye gouged out and his arms and legs broken. A video of the incident spread on social media on the night of November 1, causing a stir in the area.

The next morning, November 2, the seriously injured Delowar was first admitted to Faridpur Medical College Hospital. As his condition worsened, he was brought to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for better treatment.

In the 1-minute-53-second video circulating on social media, a bedridden Delowar is seen writhing in pain and making allegations. According to him, he had long been under pressure to withdraw a case filed in court. When he refused, 10 to 12 men took him from his home on Sunday night. The attackers' faces were covered.

In the video, Delowar named former UP chairman Mostafa as the main instigator behind the incident. He also named Shahin Mallik, Hasib Mallik, Hasibul Mallik, Rifat, Saiful, Alamgir, Jahangir and Bajed Fakir, among others, and accused them of torturing him.

But a different account emerged from local people in the Bara Madhabpur area. Several local residents and public representatives claim there have long been specific allegations against the injured Delowar of stealing cattle, mobile phones, shallow machines, easy-bike batteries, goats and a mosque microphone. He had been handed over to police over thefts before, and a human chain was recently held in the area against him.

Riazul Islam Abbas, UP member of local Ward 6, said Delowar may have been caught red-handed while stealing and beaten by local people.

According to eyewitnesses, at dawn on Monday (November 2) a vegetable farmer heard screams from a paddy field and informed local people. They later rescued Delowar from there in an injured state.

Denying the allegation, Md Golam Mostafa, former chairman of Krishnanagar Union Parishad and joint general secretary of Kotwali thana BNP, said, 'This incident is a planned conspiracy against me. Ahead of the upcoming union parishad election, one side has staged this drama to damage my political and social image.'

Golam Mostafa also said Delowar did not name him at first. He claimed that after being rescued, Delowar was taken to the current chairman's house and, after a long time, came out and published a baseless video against him on the internet. He demanded a fair and impartial investigation into the incident.

Current UP chairman AKM Basharul Alam Badsha Mia, avoiding the allegation raised against him, said, 'I heard about the incident through the UP member. But I am not sure whether Delowar was brought to my house or whether his eye was gouged out.'

Md Mahmudul Hasan, officer-in-charge of Faridpur Kotwali police station, said no written complaint has yet been filed at the station over the incident. If a written complaint is received, legal action will be taken after investigation.

With the video and the allegation involving the former chairman on one side, and counter-claims of a mob beating over theft and a political conspiracy on the other, a tense situation prevails across the area. Local conscious citizens have demanded that the real truth be uncovered through an impartial investigation and that the offenders be brought under the law.