Freedom fighter killed trying to free nephew
A freedom fighter died yesterday after he was punched in the face by a railway policeman amid an altercation over the detention of his nephew for boarding a train at Jamalpur station without a ticket.
The dead, Abdul Bari, 68, of Hatchandra village in Jamalpur, was a retired member of Bangladesh Army.
His nephew Majaharul Islam Babu, an MBA student of Rajshahi University, got on the Bangabandhu Bridge (east)-bound train from Chittagong at Jamalpur railway station around 9:40am.
The train was still at the station as the railway authority began checking in every compartment whether passengers were travelling with tickets. At the time, RU student Babu was detained by ticket checker Anisur Rahman since he did not have any ticket, said Goura Chandra Majumdar, officer-in-charge (OC) of Jamalpur railway police.
Having been informed of the matter, Bari hurried to the station to free his nephew from the custody of the railway authority.
Enraged, the retired army man hurled abuse at railway personnel, said Abdul Baset, a retired parcel officer of the station, quoting witnesses as saying.
The OC along with several constables rushed to the spot and tried to calm him. Instead, they were locked into an altercation around 10:00am, Baset said.
At one stage, Bari punched Tapon Barua, constable of the police station. The constable then punched back indiscriminately in the face of Bari causing him to bleed from his nose and mouth, said Haider Ali, commander of Jamalpur sadar upazila unit of Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad.
Bari instantly fell to the ground with his head hitting the platform, he said, adding that he was immediately taken to Jamalpur General Hospital.
As his condition deteriorated, he was referred to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Mymensingh around 12:00noon.
There were marks of injuries to Bari's face. Considering his condition, he was referred to the CMH, said Mushair-ul Islam, a civil surgeon at the Jamalpur hospital.
The freedom fighter died there in the afternoon, Haider Ali said.
The OC said by phone that after Bari punched constable Tapon, he just pushed him in retaliation, leaving him injured.
Eight railway policemen, including the OC, were withdrawn following the incident, said Shahabuddin Khan, deputy commissioner of Jamalpur district.
The DC formed a five-member body headed by Rusel Sabrin, additional deputy commissioner (general), Jamalpur, to investigate the matter.
The probe body was asked to submit a report within seven working days, the DC said.
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