We are appalled and outraged at the barbaric killing of a thirteen-year-old boy named Rakib in Khulna. The perpetrators inserted a high-pressure air pump nozzle into the boy's rectum and pumped air into his body that tore apart his intestine and burst his lungs. Soon after, the boy succumbed to the internal injuries. The way the boy was killed shows utmost sadistic disorder of the perpetrators as well as alarmingly growing cruelty to children in society. 

This ghastly killing occurred barely a month into the gruesome murder of Samiul Alam Rajon, another thirteen-year-old boy from Sylhet. Incidents of child abuse and torture are heightened by the day. The pervasive culture of impunity is one of the major reasons behind growing occurrence of such events where perpetrators often manage to escape through legal loopholes. The government and society are equally responsible for failing to create a child-friendly environment in the face of a rapid degeneration of social values and compassion for children. 

The government should take immediate action against the culprits and give them exemplary punishment without fail. At the same time, it should show zero-tolerance to any form of infringement of child rights because that creates grounds for further violation. Unless we put a brake on the menacing trend we wonder how many more children would have to lose their lives to such severely jolting savagery.