Sagar Barman died in hospital in Narayanganj, on the outskirts of Dhaka, after workers inserted a high-pressure nozzle into his rectum and activated it, the Dhaka Tribune reports.
Advertisement
One official at the spinning mill has been arrested.
They are Administration Manager Nazmul Huda, Production Manager Harunur Rashid, Assistant Production Manager Rashedul Islam and Senior Production Executive Azhar Imam Sohel.
Ismail Hossain, officer-in-charge of Rupganj Police Station, told The Daily Star that the authorities “had heard about the incident” and was looking into the complaint.
“The children were returned to their families”. Police said they are yet to ascertain the cause of his death.
The boy had apparently gone to clean near a compressor at the mill, which supplies yarn to textile factories making clothes for Western retailers.
“He might have died from air filled through his rectum”.
Thirteen-year-old Rakib Hawlader was killed in the same way at a vehicle workshop in Bangladesh last year in retaliation for leaving his job.
The boy was later rushed to hospital but he later died, according to a police spokesman. In November, a speedy trial court sentenced two people to death for the killing the boy.
Nationwide demonstrations were also held last July over the lynching of another 13-year-old boy, who was tied to a pole and beaten to death after he was accused of stealing a bicycle.
Four men were sentenced to death over that killing.
Factories are barred from hiring workers under the age of 18.
Advertisement
Child labour is common in Bangladesh, with many children working in garment factories, often in harsh conditions.
