Man involved in beating, harrassing several women at Cox’s Bazar sea beach detained

Three video footage showing three women getting harassed at Cox’s Bazar Sea Beach has gone viral, resulting in an outpouring of reactions from people on social media.

The police have already detained the youth involved in the harassment.

“The youth was detained from Bhola Babu’s Petrol Pump of Cox’s Bazar last night [13 September],” said Javed Mahmud, an inspector of the district’s Detective Branch of Police.

The detainee has been identified as Mohammad Farukul Islam, hailing from Chunti area in Chattogram’s Lohagara upazila. He lives with his family in Cox’s Bazar.

In the video footage, Farukul was heard saying that the women were carrying out “shameful activities” at the beach.

He even uploaded a video on his Facebook account in which he was seen chasing down and beating up some alleged sex workers with a stick in his hand in the city’s Laldighi area.

“Some video footage showing the harassment of some women at the beach went viral on social media. Police later identified the youth after analysing the videos. He was detained and taken into police custody for questioning from the city’s Bhola Babu’s Petrol Pump area on Friday night,” said Inspector Javed.

In one of the videos, a woman sitting on a beach bench was seen surrounded by four youths at night. They were seen asking the woman what she was doing at the beach at late hour.

Although the woman said she was a tourist, the answer did not satisfy them. At one point, they chased the woman away from the beach, alleging that she had “damaged the atmosphere.”

In another video, a woman was seen surrounded by curious onlookers, and some youths were standing beside her with sticks in their hands. At one point, the woman was forced to do sit-ups, and indecent remarks were hurled at her.

In a third video, another woman was seen at a police box with Farukul. The woman was complaining to the police that the he had snatched away her mobile phone, and was crying and requesting them to return it, saying that she would delete everything on her phone if needed.

Many social media users claimed Farukul was a local coordinator of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, which the leaders and activists of the movement in Cox’s Bazar denied.

“People from all walks of life participated in the movement. But that doesn’t justify anyone to call themselves a coordinator,” said Shahedul Islam Shahed, a coordinator of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement in Cox’s Bazar.