Akhaura OC apologises for reporting man dead

A police official today secured exemption from a rule that challenged the legality of misreporting a businessman dead after he offered unconditional apology.

The High Court accepted the apology of Akhaura Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mosharraf Hossain Tarafdar and exempted him from the rule after hearing a writ petition.

The court also directed the government to take necessary steps so that Azad Hossain Bhuiyan, the man who was reported as dead, can go to Saudi Arabia for hajj.

The High Court bench of Justice Syed Muhammad Dastagir Husain and Justice Md Ataur Rahman Khan passed the order. Azad had filed the writ challenging the legality of the report.

A permanent resident and businessmen of Akhaura, Azad had already deposited required fees to the authority for hajj pilgrimage and a passport. He needed the clearance document.

But the OC submitted a police verification report to the Special Branch office, saying that Azad had died. The report was posted on the website of the ministry of religious affairs on June 20.

The court had asked the police officer to appear before it on July 23.