All his mistake was to ask a policeman how long they would keep passengers waiting at a signal. His query made the law enforcer so angry that he along with two other police constables dragged him down from a rickshaw and beat him indiscriminately around 2:00pm today.

The 25-year-old victim then fell on the floor of the makeshift police box at the capital’s Panthapath intersection, but the policemen did not stop. They continued kicking the youth mercilessly.

They kept on beating the man, whose name could not be known, until a group of pedestrians intervened. The youth writhing in pain suddenly discovered that he could not even stand on his feet.

“The youth just asked a traffic policeman why he was not letting them pass the signal. In reply, the constable cursed him, leading to an argument between them,” said Mofiz, an eyewitness.

Within minutes, many other pedestrians and locals gathered there and demanded punishment to the policemen responsible for the inhuman act.

Hundreds of people remained stuck on the intersection as traffic police kept vehicles and rickshaws moving towards Farmgate stranded for longer than usual time at the traffic signal, eyewitnesses alleged.

In face of the protests, the law enforcers kept constable Kalam, one of the three policemen, confined to the makeshift police box.

The pedestrians later rushed the victim to a local hospital.

Mohammad Iqbal, officer-in-charge of Kalabagan Police Station, visited the spot around 2:15pm.

He ordered everyone to leave the spot except for any two eyewitnesses. No one paid any heed to that order, rather continued protesting the incident.

At one stage, the OC himself picked up a stick and started beating the people to disperse them. His fellow officers also followed him, reports our correspondent who was present at the spot.

Motahar, a cook of Health and Hope Hospital, got beaten heavily in the incident. He received head injury.

Contacted, OC Iqbal claimed that he did not beat anyone and said he went to the spot to contain a trouble at the traffic signal arose over a trivial matter.