5 held for torturing 3 boys to death at Jashore correction centre

Police arrested five people, including Abdullah Al Masud, superintendent of Jashore juvenile correction centre, in connection with the incident of torturing three boys of the centre to death.

The four other arrestees are Masum Billah, assistant superintendent, Mushfikur Rahman, psychosocial counsellor, and physical instructors Shahanur and Omar Faruk, our Benapole correspondent reports quoting police.

Police yesterday took 10 people, including several officials and inmates of the correction centre, to custody for interrogation.

Of the 10, five were arrested as police primally found their involvement in the murder, Mohammad Ashraf Hossain, superintendent of Jashore Police, told reporters last night.

Meanwhile, the social welfare ministry has suspended Abdullah for negligence of duty, said a letter signed by Social Welfare Secretary Mohammad Jainul Bari sent from the ministry last night.

Besides, the ministry formed a three-member committee, headed by Jashore additional district magistrate, to investigate the incident, said an office order signed by Mahmuda Yeasmin, the ministry's assistant secretary.

The committee has been asked to submit a report within five working days.

Yesterday, the department of social services formed a two-member committee to investigate the incident.

The three boys, who died at the juvenile correction centre on Thursday, were allegedly tortured to death by several staffers and senior inmates.

The allegation was raised by injured inmates who had also been through similar abuse and are undergoing treatment at Jashore General Hospital.

At first, the teenagers were shown a CCTV footage of the August 3 incident and suddenly the beatings started, the injured boys said.

At one point, the senior inmates pulled the hands of the teenagers through a grill while the officials, including Masum, beat them ruthlessly until they got tired, they added.

Then the officials handed over the charge of beating to the senior inmates. The beating continued until some of them fell unconscious, they said.

The second phase of torture started around 3:00pm until they lost their consciousness once again, the injured boys at the hospital said, adding that three of them -- Parvez Hasan Rabbi, 18, Rasel alias Sujon, 18, and Naeem Hossain, 17 -- never regained their senses and died in the evening.

The father of slain Parvez Hossain Rabbi filed a case against the authorities of Jashore juvenile correction centre with Jashore Kotwali Police Station yesterday evening.