Rickshaw-puller dies from ‘forced poisoning’; moneylender arrested

A rickshaw-puller in Rajshahi has died after allegedly being forced to swallow poison, local media report.

The victim, Fazlur Rahman, 55, was from Belna village in Mohonpur upazila.

On 14 August, Prothom Alo reports, villagers found him near his home with his hands and legs tied. He was taken to hospital but died the next day.

Before his death, according to the report, Fazlur recorded a video accusing his moneylender Dhulu Mia of forcing him to swallow poison.

After his wife filed a murder case, police have arrested Dhulu.

Relatives said Fazlur had borrowed Tk 30,000 from Dhulu in 2022. He had already paid Tk 43,000 as interest, but the moneylender demanded another Tk 30,000.

A local arbitration fixed the settlement at Tk 15,000, but Dhulu rejected it, they added.

“My husband offered Tk 5,000 as final payment, but Dhulu refused,” his wife, Anjuara, said. “Now my husband has come home only as a dead body.”

Local Union Parishad member Kawsar Sardar said that Fazlur had also borrowed from NGOs and often stayed in the city to avoid creditors.

Confirming the case, Mohonpur Police Officer-in-Charge Ataur Rahman said police were investigating it seriously.