A 13-year-old boy has died in hospital in Bangladesh after a colleague allegedly pumped air into his rectum using a high-pressure hose at a spinning mill in Dhaka's Narayanganj district. Police have arrested the colleague, and the victim's family is seeking murder charges. The motive for the attack remains unclear.
This is the third such incident in just over a year in Bangladesh. According to police, the attack occurred at the end of the workday when the two workers were using the air hose to remove cotton stuck to their bodies.
In July, 10-year-old Sagar Barman was killed in a similar incident at another spinning mill in Narayanganj. Three teenage boys later admitted to assaulting him 'as a bit of fun,' local media reported, but claimed they did not intend to kill him.
Eight months earlier, the death of 13-year-old Rakib Hawlader shocked the nation. He had air pumped into his body by colleagues in retaliation for leaving his job as a mechanic. Two men were subsequently sentenced to death for his murder, which triggered protests.
Child labour is common in Bangladesh, with many children working in unofficial garment factories, often in harsh conditions.
