Activists decry rising violence on children

Police recovered the buried bodies of four children in Bahubal upazila of Habiganj district yesterday morning, five days after they went missing.
The incident triggered alarm among child rights activists, who said abductions and murder of children have increased across the country recently. At least 29 such incidents were reported during January 1 to January 29 this year, they said.

According to statistics, at least four children were killed after being abducted, while the bodies of six others were found after they went missing. Three children were killed by their close relatives, while the others were killed by classmates or unidentified miscreants.
The data was released by Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum, an apex body of 235 NGOs working for child rights.
Forum coordinator Dr Halima Khatun said, “As 29 children were killed in the first month of this year itself, I am worried that the number might cross that of previous years.”
Referring to yesterday’s grisly discovery, she said, “If four children were killed in a single incident, we must handle such cases in a tougher manner.”
Maj.  Rumman Mahmud, director of the Rapid Action Battalion’s legal and media wing, told The Independent that the law enforcement agency conducted at least six to seven operations across the country in the past two weeks in connection with child abductions and killings. “We always take such cases very seriously, considering the sensitiveness of the victims,” he added.
As per data, child abductions and killings had increased from 2012 to 2014. But the number of such killings had dipped in 2015. As many as 1,085 children were killed between 2012 and 2015. Among them, 209 children were killed in 2012, 218 in 2013, 366 in 2014 and 292 in 2015.

Activists decry rising violence on children

Police recovered the buried bodies of four children in Bahubal upazila of Habiganj district yesterday morning, five days after they went missing. The incident triggered alarm among child rights activists, who said abductions and murder of children have increased across the country recently. At least 29 such incidents were reported during January 1 to January 29 this year, they said. According to statistics, at least four children were killed after being abducted, while the bodies of six others were found after they went missing. Three children were killed by their close relatives, while the others were killed by classmates or unidentified miscreants. The data was released by Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum, an apex body of 235 NGOs working for child rights. Forum coordinator Dr Halima Khatun said, As 29 children were killed in the first month of this year itself, I am worried that the number might cross that of previous years. Referring to yesterdays grisly discovery, she said, If four children were killed in a single incident, we must handle such cases in a tougher manner. Maj. Rumman Mahmud, director of the Rapid Action Battalions legal and media wing, told The Independent that the law enforcement agency conducted at least six to seven operations across the country in the past two weeks in connection with child abductions and killings. We always take such cases very seriously, considering the sensitiveness of the victims, he added. As per data, child abductions and killings had increased from 2012 to 2014. But the number of such killings had dipped in 2015. As many as 1,085 children were killed between 2012 and 2015. Among them, 209 children were killed in 2012, 218 in 2013, 366 in 2014 and 292 in 2015.