Child brutalised once again!

Yet again, we are confronted with the appalling news of 12-year-old boy tied to a tree and beaten mercilessly by more than one person, apparently as 'punishment for theft'. It brings to mind the tragic plight of the 13-year-old Rajon who, less than two months, was similarly tied up and beaten by four men over a prolonged period till he died, begging for mercy. Luckily, Chittagong's Takrim Hossain Sourav, a class five student, was at least spared his life, he still had to endure severe torture and abuse, which not only caused mental trauma but also respiratory disorder and other physical problems in the child. According to Sourav, he was punched and kicked, pushed to the ground, and then tied to tree, after which the attacker and a few more people continued to beat him, accusing of stealing Tk. 5000. A few hours later, upon hearing about the incident, his mother recovered him still tied to the tree on the attacker's premises. 

It is unfortunate that, in this country, we barely take notice of crimes against children unless they are of a sensational nature. Umpteen instances of child abuse in the country remain unnoticed; and it's not always a stranger or outsider, but also people who we may never suspect of being abusers – one's teacher, family member, parent, acquaintance – who inflict violence on children. In a vast majority of these cases, perpetrators go unpunished. 

We demand exemplary punishment for this atrocity against Saurav, for we strongly believe that without deterrent punishment for criminals in this country, such horrible incidents of child torture and abuse would continue unabated.