Staff reporter:

On the 21st of June 2022, a young student of Bangladeshi origin was subject to brutal attack from a group of boys in Westwood, Oldham.

One member of the gang video recorded the attack as the victim was violently kicked, punched, aggressively trampled on and abused in the most heinous of ways. During the almost 5 minute long video, he can be seen bleeding heavily from his face as he screams and shouts in agony, the offenders showing no mercy nor sympathy towards him. Despite the many times he cried out sorry for a crime he did not commit, his oppressors continued to savagely torture his body in every possible way. By the end of the video they had stipped him naked and left him almost lifeless on the ground.

This horrific incident occurred in an alleyway in Westwood, Oldham. The community has been in uproar and members are passionately seeking justice for this innocent boy. On Sunday the 3rd of July, a community meeting was held at the Grand Venue car park to show their sincere support and upmost efforts to seek justice for the victim. Speaking at the gathering, community activist, Nanu Miah, updated the people regarding the boy’s situation, saying:

“Thank God, he’s still alive. He is recovering but traumatised. He is in a state of shock”

“The boy has been here in the UK for 7 months, he has arrived on a student visa and he doesn’t have any family in the UK. He is sharing a house with 6 to 8 other lads, but one thing I want to say: he may not have immediate family in the UK, but the whole of Oldham, Oldhamers have become his family” to which the entire crowd cheered and applauded.

Mr Miah also expressed the importance of allowing the police to deal with the situation and for community members to not interfere with the process, stating:

“I spoke to Jabbar bhai, I spoke to Azad bhai, Nazrul and Mohan (…) he has spoken to the council and the police and they’re taking action. Now what we need, we cannot take matters into our own hands. We want the police to deal with it”

Three individuals relating to this incident have been arrested and the police are continuing to investigate the matter.

This horrifying attack which has been captured on video has disturbed and shook many people to the core. Abdul Jabbar, Oldham Council’s deputy leader, explains:

“This a terrible incident and everybody is rightly outraged by it (…) Are we outraged? Absolutely. Do we want to stop this happening again? Absolutely. The message from me, the council and the police is to be calm”