Rickshaw puller beaten dead in Bhashantek slum

A rickshaw puller has been "beaten dead" following a feud in Bhashantek area of Dhaka city.

Deceased Tajul Islam, 40, hailing from Kishoreganj, used to reside in Vasantek Lala Sarai slum, police said.

Two months ago, Tajul bought a rickshaw with one Al Amin on share, which Tajul used to pull, the victim's brother-in-law Abul Bashar told The Daily Star. Since the buying of the rickshaw, there had been a rift between the two over the allocation of the income generated from the rickshaw, he said.

A local arbitration was called to settle the dispute around yesterday evening. At one stage, four to five people started beating Tajul with iron rods as he tried to leave the place, Officer-in-Charge of Vasantek Police Station Sabbir Ahmed said.

Critically injured, Tajul was taken to a local hospital. As his condition was deteriorating, he was referred to National Institute for Cardio Vascular Disease (NICDV) where he was pronounced dead early today, the OC said.

Later, police took the body to Dhaka Medical College morgue for autopsy, he said.

Six persons including the prime accused Al Amin were detained in this connection, the police official added.