Anatomy of a Thief-Beating

by SHARIF MAHMUD
Like so many others of my generation (the 90s and beyond), I consume only the news that floats around
social media. News from conventional sources like Cable TV, chock-full with negative stories--political
turmoil, corruption, terrorism, violence, rape, and environmental damage—makes me feel cynical about
the state of the world. Earlier this March, while casually surfing the TV channels, I ran across a news
channel that was broadcasting a recorded video of thief beating from Madarpur, a village in Rangpur
district.
The video was graphic, intensely shocking and distressing. The incident it depicted was almost theatrical,
showing elaborate arrangements to torture the two alleged thieves. To ensure that the offenders are
completely defenseless and ensnared, the locals tied their hands and legs with thick top sticks, letting
their bodies suspended face-up parallel to the ground like slaughterhouses, where animals are set up
before peeling their skin and flesh. They whipped the victims in a gruesome fashion, repeatedly hitting
the bare sole of the feet, bareback, and head with sticks and twigs. Within moments, a handful of people
joined the initial aggressors in an ecstatic frenzy at this open savage-party. They took turns. A few jeering
onlookers were capturing the moment, while some smirking over, and some giving nod of approval.
Together they ensured the victims breathe their last on the spot.
This incident is no way an isolated one; a simple Google search reveals hundreds of similar results. Then
again, like any other predominantly rural crimes, they often go underreported, while only homicides
make headlines.
Instead of being dismissive by ascribing ignorant, primitive, and savage labels to those villagers, we need
to scrutinize thief-beating to have a better grasp of these incidents.
Firstly: What motives the perpetrators had in committing a crime immensely bigger than the one they
are reacting to?
In most cases, the perpetrators show converging motives. Beyond a few whose property the thieves
tried to steal, there are others who may be driven by a desire to settle old scores, losing personal
possessions due to theft in the past; some may care about the safety of their properties in future, while
some may wish to teach the miscreants a lesson so that they think twice before entering the locality
again. Then there is another group, potentially the most dangerous one: the youth, with loads of
untapped energy.
In uneventful, bland rural setting, bored and impulsive youth feel a strong urge to show their physical
prowess to their peers. Captured thieves present a rare opportunity to release their suppressed energy
and rage, brag about their ‘bravado’, create ‘heroic’ stories to tell others, and become a subject of local
chat. Thanks to attention economy built around social media, these youths can also broadcast their valor,
be seen and appreciated by many.
Secondly: With so many people around, was there no one kind and courageous enough to make them
stop the torture?
Several socioeconomic and sociopsychological factors are at work here. The strength, the irritability that
springs from being a part of mob bolster peoples’ conviction that the enemy is subhuman and should be
punished. Several studies reveal that participants in a crowd incidentally lose their reasoning capacities
and slavishly follow the group toward its goal. French polymath Gustave Le Bon succinctly puts it, “Its
[crowds’] acts are far more under the influence of the spinal cord than of the brain”.
Then again, contrary to popular belief, the more the number of bystanders, the less likely people will
help a victim. This phenomenon is known as “bystander effect” in social psychology.
Lastly: The alleged offenders have the legal right to be judged by the court with careful examination of
the evidence. What such incidents tell us about our society?
These crimes reveal the degree of lawlessness and sense of impunity that afflicts our society. Often local
police have close ties with the thieves’ groups. So commoners think that filing lawsuits or handing over
the seized thieves to the police will not work. The delinquents will eventually get off scot-free within a
day in exchange for a little cash. This dire situation of injustice, mistrust, and human-rights abuse is
reflected in the country’s position in law and order situation, and public perception of corruption: Global
Rule of Law Index (2017) ranks Bangladesh at 102 among 113 countries, only ahead of Pakistan and
Afghanistan in South Asia, while Transparency International Global Survey (2012) reports that 93% of
Bangladeshis view police as corrupt.
More than systematic ineptitude and corruption in the law enforcement system, we should earnestly
ponder about our collective moral decadence, our endemic way of desensitizing and normalizing evil
acts. A healthy society is the one where superior human qualities—empathy, kindness, self-control, trust,
and adherence to the law and social contract—are valued, preached and practiced by the majority.
Unfortunately, the gulf between the moral education in our textbooks and moral standard of our society
is ever so widening that it has become extremely difficult to be hopeful about our future.
The succession of theft, responsibility shirking and inaction by police, and thief-beating creates a vicious
circle of social malady that is overlooked in civic discourse. While mob violence is notoriously difficult to
handle, the problem of homicide in self-help justice is solvable. To treat this pathology, at the most basic
level, we must ensure that due process of law is maintained, and no human rights abuses are tolerated.
Outreach and collaborative programs could be arranged to bridge the age-old gap of understanding and
trust between police and community. Without patronizing, citizens should be encouraged to help the
police in maintaining law and order in the society. Lastly, to instill humanistic values among the children
and youth, we need to teach moral philosophy in classes coupled with practical drills to emulate real-life
scenarios where students will learn, internalize and apply ethics, integrity, principles, and above all, live a
good life for goodness’ sake.