Minor girls beaten in Munshiganj launch: Beat them to discipline them as elder brother, assaulter says

Two minor girls were beaten up by a youth on a launch docked at Munshiganj Launch Terminal while returning to Dhaka last night (9 May).

A video of the beating went viral on social media, while allegations surfaced that money and mobile phones were looted from the victims, police said.

The viral video showed a youth beating up two girls aged 15-17 with a belt at the front of the launch.

The youth was later identified as Nehal Ahmed Jihad from Munshiganj town.

During the incident, some 50-60 men recorded the video and even cheered for the youth, witnesses said.

Asked about the incident, Nehal said, "Some 200-300 men were about to attack the girls upon getting angered by their attire. I have punished them as a brother to neutralise the people. I shouldn't have done that.

"If I hadn't punished the girls, the other people would've tore their dresses apart and humiliated them more. I even recovered around eight mobile phones from the locals and returned these to their owners. I regret my conduct," Nehal added.

Saiful Alam, officer-in-charge of Munshiganj Sadar Police Station, said, "Some eight to 10 passengers got down from the launch to buy evening snacks. Assuming them to be drug addicts, some locals followed them and tried to get into the launch, where they were obstructed by Launch Manager Md Shafique."

"Angered by the obstruction, locals gathered and entered the launch, where they carried out vandalism, beat up and looted the passengers. The locals calmed down after police reached the spot," the OC said.

When asked whether there will be any actions taken for openly beating up minor girls, Additional Superintendent of Police in Munshiganj Mohammad Firoz Kabir said, "Police have not taken any steps yet. I have heard that the river police will take action as the incident took place on a river."

In-Charge of Muktarpur River Police Station Md Ataur Rahman said, "We were at the spot with the police officials. We guarded and went alongside the launch for a long distance after the incident of beating.

"The victims told us they will lodge complaints over the incidents of beating and looting. We have not received any complaints till this morning (10 May). Legal steps will be taken after we receive a complaint," Ataur said.  

According to local journalists, the launch docked at Munshiganj Launch Terminal around 8pm last night.

Upon receiving information about vandalism, the local journalists went there around 9:30pm, where they captured footage of the incident and returned after talking to the girls who were beaten up.

A journalist who was at the spot said, "The launch which plies on the Dhaka-Lalmohan route was carrying 300 passengers to Dhaka.

"There were 20-25 boys and two minor girls inside the cabins on the first floor of the launch. They had rented the cabins and were returning after enjoying a daylong picnic," the journalist said.

Videos of the incident that are circulating on social media further show that a group of 10-15 people were mercilessly beating up some minor boys on the first floor of the launch.

The attackers were also trying to conduct a search and break the locks of the cabins, the videos showed.

According to witnesses, at least six people were injured after being beaten up while on a picnic aboard the launch named MV Captain.

Although the identities of the injured could not be known immediately, police are assuming all of them are residents of Kamrangirchar in the capital.

There were 300 passengers on the launch.