A viral video shows three men holding down an elderly man and forcibly cutting his beard and hair, which were previously styled in a manner similar to that of Baul fakirs. The man tries to get away with whatever strength he has, but is unable to. Finally, exhausted and distraught, he says: “Allah, please see what they do.”
The incident occurred at Kashiganj Bazar in Mymensingh’s Tarakanda Upazila before the last Eid-ul-Azha, but a video of it recently went viral on Facebook, reports bdnews24.com.
Inquiries found that the victim is Halim Uddin Akondo, 70 – a resident of Kodalia village in the Upazila.
Halim is well known by locals as a beggar. He is described as an eccentric, but they say he does not have a mental disability. He has two children - a son and a daughter.
Halim had a knot of hair he had maintained for 37 years and was a follower of Sufi saints Hazrat Shahjalal and Shah Poran. He worked as a farmer at one time, but has since turned to begging at different spots. One day, he was set upon by a group of men at Kashiganj Bazar. They used an electric razor to forcibly cut his knot, his hair, and his beard.
A local trader named Mokbul Hasan said, “In our society, every person has the right to live freely. It is not acceptable for anyone to trespass on another’s freedom. I believe that what happened with Halim Uddin is a clear injustice. The government should take a firm stance on such things.”
Mymensingh Baul Association General Secretary Rezaul Karim had gone to visit Halim on Thursday.
“Halim Bhai is a practitioner of the Naqshbandi order. Currently, he is physically and mentally ill. On behalf of the Mymensingh Baul Association, we express our deep condemnation and protest against this incident. We demand a fair investigation into this incident and punishment for the perpetrators.”
Describing the incident, Halim said: “When the perpetrators cut my hair they said, `What can you do about it?` My strength was not enough. What can you do when 8-10 people grab you? They threw me down and forcibly cut my hair. I lost consciousness then. Now, people don’t recognise me. I haven’t been able to work since then. I can’t go to the market. I just stay inside, at home. I keep myself hidden.”
Mohammad Tipu Sultan, chief of Tarakanda Police Station, said: “The elderly man is known in the area as Halim Fakir. He is also a poet. Before the last Eid-ul-Azha, a group of men in waistcoats cut his hair, bathed him, put him in new cloths and left. Locals were not able to identify the men. We have made inquiries regarding the elderly man. We will make arrangements if he wants to take any legal steps.”
Zakir Hossein, Tarakanda Upazila administrator (UNO), said: “The chief of the local police station has been asked to make inquiries regarding the elderly man. If there was such an incident, then we will instruct the police station to take legal action.”
