A youth was beaten to death by a neighbour following a trivial altercation in Rayerbag area of Jatrabari in the capital on Monday night.
The deceased was identified as Rifat Hossain, 18, a worker at a carton factory.
The incident occurred around 8:30pm on Monday. Rifat was rushed to the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) in a critical state, where doctors pronounced him dead around 9:30pm.
The victim’s father, Hashem Mridha, said that the family resides as tenants in the Khanbari area of Rayerbag.
According to Mridha, Rifat was sitting behind their residence when a neighbour, identified as 26-year-old Shakil, taunted him by asking if he was sitting there to smoke marijuana.
Rifat reportedly rebuked Shakil for the comment, triggering an argument. At one stage, Shakil assaulted Rifat, leaving him unconscious.
Inspector Md Faruk, in-charge of the DMCH police camp, confirmed that the body has been kept at the hospital morgue for an autopsy.
He added that the Jatrabari police have been notified of the incident and are currently investigating the matter.
