- The young child was surrounded by four men in Bangladesh who tied him up, and cracked open his head with a brick
- Sliced his chest and belly in an upside down cross and chopped off his penis
- Attack said to be retaliation for argument his father had with one of the men
- 'Beggar mafia' is becoming more common in South Asian countries
- Shown in the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, in which a child in Mumbai, India, is intentionally blinded so he could bring in more money
By JILL REILLY
A seven-year-old boy was grabbed from the street by strangers to maim him so he would elicit more sympathy working for them as a beggar. But when he recognized the men from his area and told them he would report them to his father, they decided to torture him, cutting off his penis and leaving him for dead on the streets of Bangladesh.
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In some South Asian countries, the prevalence of 'beggar mafias' is becoming increasingly common.
Butchered: The seven-year-old's attackers drew ab upside down cross on his chest as well as slitting his throat
The practice was portrayed in the 2008 movie Slumdog Millionaire, in which a child in Mumbai, India, is intentionally blinded so he could bring in more money.
The tragic story was uncovered by CNN's Freedom Project - they named the child, who can not be identified, as Okkhoy, the Bengali word for 'unbreakable.' The horrific attack on Okkhoy unfolded in late 2010, just a few days before the Muslim festival of Eid, when three local children lured the trusting child out of his home with the promise of a lolly.
Brutal: One of the attackers grabbed a brick and Okkhoy lost consciousness after he was struck over the head
It was then a group of neighborhood men grabbed him and pulled him into an alley, binding his hands and feet. 'They tied me up and told me they'd force me to beg,' said Okkhoy.
But their hope to maim Okkhoy turned into a plan to kill him after he told the men that he recognised them and he would tell his father. One of the attackers grabbed a brick and Okkhoy lost consciousness after he was struck over the head. They then set about carving up his body, slashing his throat and slicing his chest and belly in an upside down cross.
Butchered: Okkhoy nearly died from blood-loss after his attackers slit his throat and left him for dead
In a final brutal act, his attackers chopped off his penis and his right testicle. Okkhoy was dumped by the side of a warehouse - his attackers intended to come back later and dump him in the river. But his mother, who had gone looking for her missing child, stumbled across his blood-soaked body.'
I barely recognized him; he was so stained with blood,' shes said. She carried her young son's body to the side of the main road where she was met by Okkhoy's father Abed, who had been alerted by a neighbor. 'It felt like the sky fell on me,' he said.
'As a father, there is no greater pain in the world than knowing that you could not protect your child.' Okkhoy spent three months in a Dhaka hospital, but doctors were unable to do much to repair the severed organ. Abed reported the attack to police, but was shocked to discover it had already been covered and the police would not investigate. A man, who pretended to be Okkhoy's uncle, had told police that his nephew was attacked by two boys in a playground spat.
A judge also refused to help, but by sheer coincidence human rights lawyer, Alena Khan was in the courthouse and felt compelled to publicize the horrifying case.
As the founder of Bangladesh Human Rights Foundation, she contacted a local television station and the story garnered so much publicity the high court was forced to ask authorities to launch an inquiry. Within days, the Rapid Action Battalion rounded up five suspects and charged them with attempted murder. 'The boy started arguing with us and I hit him on his head with a brick,' said one of the men in a televised confession.
'After I hit him on the head, he fell to the ground. Then (one of the men) said to cut off his penis, and I cut it off. After that, (someone else) cut his chest and belly. Then (a third person) held his head and slit his throat,' he said.
Philanthropy: U.S. businessman Aram Kovach, from Ohio, heard the story on CNN and decided to fund a trip for Okkoy and his family to travel to America for treatment
At the trial, according to prosecutors, it emerged that the gang maimed at least five other children to get money for begging. The gang kept the children confined for months in tight spaces or even in barrels and deprived them of food and then send them out to beg, according to one of the men who confessed. Okkhoy's father believes the attack was payback after he had a confrontation with one of the men at a tea stall. Authorities continue to look for four others who they claim are part of the same 'beggar mafia' gang.
To ensure Okkhoy and his family stay safe, they were placed in a battalion compound, but his father remained concerned about his son's ability to father children.
Publicised: The practice was portrayed in the 2008 movie Slumdog Millionaire, in which a child in Mumbai, India, is intentionally blinded so he could bring in more money
But then U.S. businessman Aram Kovach, from Ohio, heard the story on CNN and decided to fund a trip for Okkhoy and his family to travel to America for treatment. John Gearhart, the director of pediatric urology at Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore, Maryland decided to waive his fee and help Okhkoy.
Although the surgeons were initially concerned they would not be able to reconstruct Okkhoy's genitalia, they found it was less-damaged than originally thought on the operating table.
They were to move the urethra - the tube used for urination - to the tip of Okkhoy's penis, so he would no longer have to urinate through a tiny hole the doctors in Bangladesh had created.
And his father's concerns about having grandchildren was abated after Redett's team used skin from Okkhoy's thigh for the shaft of the penis and tissue from his inner cheek lining to create the tip.
The success of the operation means that Okkhoy will be able to have sensation and the organ will continue to grow as Okkhoy gets older. Now Okkhoy's ambition for the future is to become a doctor and help other people who have been inured.
A CNN Freedom Project documentary, ‘Operation Hope’ can be seen on CNN International
