8 months on, probe not complete yet
Police could not complete investigations into the leak of the draft verdict in the war crimes case against Salauddin Quader Chowdhury even eight months after the sensational incident, frustrating both the special tribunal and the stakeholders.
The investigator of the case said the probe was “at the final stage”, but one of his higher officials disputed the claim. However, both of them have said they had detected the involvement of at least four people, including a defence lawyer.
Tribunal registrar and spokesman AKM Nasiruddin Mahmud said: “We are not satisfied with the progress of the investigation.” “Such delay is not expected,” observed Tureen Afroz, a member of the war crimes prosecution.
Meanwhile, law enforcers on Monday arrested Mahbubul Ahsan, manager of the convict, in connection with the leakage and following the prayer of the investigation officer. A Dhaka court yesterday placed him on a five-day remand.
The draft verdict of the case against the top BNP leader had been leaked a day before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 delivered the judgement on October 1 last year, raising serious questions over the security of the highly protected tribunals. Three days after the leak, detectives filed a case with Shahbagh police against tribunal employees, cleaner Nayon Ali and office assistant Faruk Hossain, Salauddin's lawyer Fakrul Islam, his assistant Mehedi Hasan and several unnamed people under the Information Communication Technology Act, 2006.
The police arrested Nayon and Faruk the same day. Nayon in his confessional statement on October 10 said he had started delivering the draft using a flash drive to Fakhrul Islam's office from September 15 last year and earned Tk 500 to Tk 1,000 a day.
The police on November 20 last year arrested Fakrul but could not arrest Mehedi.
Mohammad Shahjahan, investigation officer of the case, told The Daily Star: “The investigation is now at the final stage, but we are waiting for the arrest of Mehedi Hasan.”
Asked when they would submit the probe report, he said; “My higher authorities can say that.”
Contacted last week, Deputy Commissioner of DB (South) Krishna Pada Roy, who is supervising the case, said: “I would not say it [investigation] is now at the final stage. Investigation is going on and it is not possible to tell the dateline…. We are trying to complete the investigation as early as possible,” he said, adding, “You have to give us necessary time for conclusive disposal of the case.”
He further said the evidence collected so far had proved the involvement of the three arrestees and Mehedi and they were looking for the latter.
Nasiruddin Mahmud said: “We [tribunal] are not satisfied with the progress of the investigation; actually, there is nothing to be satisfied with.
“The matter should be disposed of as early as possible for the sake of security of the tribunal,” he added.
Tureen Afroz said the leak was an attempt to create a controversy over not only a specific case but also the entire war crimes trial proceedings. “So, the people involved in the incident must be detected,” she said, adding, “But such delay is not acceptable.”
Shahriar Kabir, executive president of Ekattarer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, said: “The investigation should not take eight months. It should have been done in seven to maximum 15 days.”
Such incidents will occur again and the tribunal will fall under a security threat if the case is not dissolved properly, he added.
After the leak of Skype conversations between former ICT-1 chairman Justice Nizamul Huq and Belgium-based legal expert Ahmed Ziauddin in December 2012, war crimes trial campaigners had demanded an inquiry into the incident, but not much has apparently been done in that case either.
Comments