Mahbub Pial, Faridpur

A farmer named Yusuf Ali Sheikh, 55, has died at the Faridpur Medical College Hospital after being allegedly tortured and forcibly fed toxic pesticides in Charbhadrasan upazila of Faridpur district. Before his death, the victim recorded a video statement detailing the torture and identifying his attackers.

Yusuf passed away in the early hours of Monday while undergoing treatment. Police subsequently sent the body to the hospital morgue for an autopsy. The deceased was a resident of Char Amrapur village under Gazirtek union in Charbhadrasan upazila and was the father of two sons.

According to members of the victim's family, the incident began on the evening of August 1, when a local youth named Shamim lured Yusuf to the char area along the Padma River. There, a group of seven to eight individuals physically assaulted him before forcefully pouring toxic pesticide into his mouth. The perpetrators then left him near the home of a local leader, Bashir Member.

Upon receiving news of his condition, family members rushed Yusuf to a local rural medical practitioner, where he began vomiting blue-tinted saliva. As his condition rapidly deteriorated, relatives transferred him that night to the Faridpur Medical College Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries after two days of intensive treatment.

Before passing away, Yusuf gave a video interview describing how he was forced to consume the poison following brutal physical abuse. In the video, he explicitly named seven to eight individuals involved in the assault, including Shamim Sheikh—son of local resident Sattar Sheikh—alongside Shamim's sister Yasmin, brothers-in-law Akkas and Idris, brother Nuru, as well as Julhas and Sajib.

Regarding the motive behind the attack, Yusuf mentioned an incident involving the disappearance of Sattar Sheikh's wife, Asma Begum, a matter he had previously discussed with his family and his brother Ismail Sheikh, who is an expatriate worker in Saudi Arabia.

Ismail Sheikh, the victim's brother, claimed that the disappearance of Asma Begum was staged, noting that although her family had filed a general diary (GD) with the police, they remained in regular contact with her. He added that Asma's daughter had previously spoken with her mother using Yusuf's mobile phone, prompting police to question Yusuf regarding the matter. Ismail alleged that the attackers planned and executed the murder to cover up their staged disappearance narrative and prevent the truth from coming to light.

When contacted, Charbhadrasan Police Station OC Mohammad Safar Ali confirmed that law enforcement is aware of the incident.