Bangladesh: New grisly child abuse video emerges amid outrage over lynching incident

A fresh video showing two orphanage girls being brutally beaten by one of the caretakers has surfaced in Bangladesh amid ongoing outrage over a recent incident in which a 13-year-old boy was lynched.

The staff has been suspended after the video footage was aired as a special committee has been appointed to investigate the matter.

In the footage, two girls, Akhi and Dalia, both aged either eight or nine, are seen being thrashed by Md Dulal, a health assistant working with the state-run girls orphanage in Barisal, 142 km (88 miles) from the capital Dhaka. The two girls are seen wandering inside the children's home's premises and then being beaten.

The graphic video was posted by local news outlet, The Daily Star.

"We felt homesick. We tried to flee," Akhi told reporters. Local reports suggested that many of the girls were subjected to similar harsh punishments by the wardens of the orphanage.

The incident has come to light when thousands of protesters took to the streets against the gruesome murder of a boy, Sheikh Samiul Alam Rajon.

The post-mortem report said the boy had died of brain haemorrhage sustained after he was lynched for allegedly stealing a vehicle. A video showing the grisly incident, which took place on the outskirts of Syllhet, was shot by one of the alleged killers.

Four people have been arrested so far in connection with the murder. The main accused, Quamrul Islam, was arrested in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

"They've beaten my son to death. Now as I can't get back my son, I want punishment for the killers," said the boy's mother, Rubna Begum, urging the Bangladesh prime minister for a speedy trial. The government has promised to take immediate action.