A teenage boy who was allegedly beaten up for meeting his female friend in Rajshahi鈥檚 Godagari upazila died on Saturday morning, 12 days after the incident.
The deceased was identified as Md Shihab, 17, son of Mizanur Rahman Ripon of Basantapur village under the upazila. He passed the Secondary School Certificate examination this year.
Shihab had been on life support in the Intensive Care Unit of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital following the assault, succumbed to his injuries on Saturday morning, according to police and family sources.
According to local residents and police, on October 20, Shihab went to the Banduria area, near his village, to meet a female friend. Upon reaching the Tetultola Bak area,
he was spotted by some of the girl鈥檚 relatives, who immediately chased him away.
In a bid to escape, Shihab reportedly jumped into a nearby pond in the darkness after running into a field. Several men pursued him into the water and apprehended him. He was then pulled from the water and struck repeatedly with sticks until he lost consciousness.
Locals and family members later rescued him and transported him to the hospital in critical condition. He had remained in a coma since the attack as a result of severe head injuries.
Following the incident, a case was filed by Shihab鈥檚 father, Ripon, at the Godagari Police Station on October 24. The complaint specifically named nine individuals and additionally accused eight to nine other unidentified people.
As of Saturday noon, no arrests had been made in connection with the accused.
Godagari Police Station Inspector Moazzem Hossain said that Shihab was attacked as he was on his way to visit his female friend.
鈥榃e have heard about his death. After the autopsy, the body will be handed over to the family,鈥� he said, adding that since he died as a result of the assault, the earlier assault case would now be treated as a murder case.
