Police high-ups failing to act: HC

The High Court has observed that police authorities have miserably failed to hold a handful of corrupt officials accountable, for which the higher police authorities cannot absolve responsibility.

The observation was made referring to the killing of Maj (retd) Sinha Md Rashed Khan in Cox's Bazar and the wrongful arrest of Md Arman, an innocent weaver at Mirpur Benarasi Palli in Dhaka who has been languishing in jail for around five years in a drug case.

The HC mentioned that the police report pressed in the Sinha killing case says the murder was orchestrated at the Teknaf Police Station. "So how the general people will repose faith on the police force and find the police station as their safer place to register their grievance?"

"... we very consciously hold that a handful corrupt police officials who have been tasked with the duty to protect and preserve the life of innocent people of this country became errant and their higher authority has miserably failed to hold these corrupt, defiant police officials accountable for which they [higher police authorities] cannot absolve their responsibility … ."

Referring to the custodial death of Ishtiaque Hossain Jonny in Dhaka in 2014, the HC said, "It's our common knowledge, just a few months back three police officials of that particular police station were convicted and sentenced for the first time since Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act, 2013 came into effect."

On the wrongful arrest of Arman, the court said, "… Annexure-'3' to the affidavit-in-opposition proves Police Commissioner [of Dhaka] was abreast of the unfortunate incident. And for that obvious reason, the respondent no 4 [IGP], who is the highest controlling authority of the police, cannot skirt around his responsibility on such a planned, deliberate and wrongful act committed on hapless innocent Md Arman."

The HC bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah And Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim made the observation in the full text of its verdict delivered after a writ petition was filed challenging the wrongful arrest of Arman and keeping him in jail for around five years instead of the original accused named Shahabuddin in the drug case.

The 39-page full text verdict was released yesterday.

On December 31 last year, the HC bench following the writ petition filed by Law and Life Foundation, a rights organisation, declared the arrest and detention of Arman illegal and contradictory to his fundamental and human rights, and asked the authorities concerned of the government to immediately release him from Kashimpur Jail-2.

The HC also directed the IGP to give Tk 20 lakh in compensation to Arman in 30 days after receiving the copy of the verdict and ordered the DMP commissioner to withdraw five police officers responsible for the wrongful arrest.

The IGP and the DMP commissioner have been asked to submit separate reports to the HC by February 14.

The HC also ordered the Police Bureau of Investigation to conduct an enquiry into the incident and submit a probe report by April 11.

A special court in Dhaka sentenced Shahabuddin and two of his cohorts to 10 years in prison and fined them Tk 5,000 each in the drug case. But Pallabi police on January 30, 2016, arrested Arman.

In the full text of the verdict, the HC judges said, "It is thus high time to filter out those unscrupulous police officials from the disciplined force to renew confidence in the mind of general populace…

"What happened to the fate of Md Arman just bears the testimony of a naked highhandedness of some derailed police officials and certainly the entire police force cannot take responsibility of that misdemeanor and blame for such an irresponsible, immoral act of some rogue police officials. So it is about time the police has to come out from such stigma and its higher authority to take some distinct and drastic action against the wrongdoers such that none can dare to infract discipline in the force and make any harm to the innocent general public."

The HC judges also observed, "From the enquiry report, testimony of witnesses in particular, the statement of witness no. 7 SI [sub-inspector] Monirara and finally that of the provisional order, it has overwhelmingly found that, the detenu [Arman] has been detained in the jail custody unjustly by purposely showing him convict in a narcotic case in which one, Shahabuddin Behari and two other accused were convicted and sentenced. It unequivocally proves that, detenu Md Arman has been subjected to victim of a long-running conspiracy of some greedy and corrupt police officials that led him to serve such a long confinement."

"On top of that, from the foregoing discussion and observation, we very unambiguously find that, a formidable injustice has been perpetrated upon the hapless detenu by some immoral, corrupt, misguided and greedy police officials in a preplanned manner, and in the name of holding the delinquents accountable, a farce and unfounded disciplinary action had been initiated through which two petty police officials have also been subjected to injustice," the HC said.

The bench said, "It is found from the record that, the detenu [Arman] has still been languishing in the prison most illegally and certainly for such unlawful action his very fundamental right to life and personal liberty has grossly been curtailed when Article 32 of our Constitution guarantees protection of his such fundamental right.

"For the last 5 years, the detenu indubitably went through untold physical, mental distress not to say his financial predicament. It has been found from the record that when he had illegally been detained by the police, he left behind his widow mother and pregnant wife and he himself is a patient of convulsion ... .

"We perceive and deeply feel sorry that, the detenu will not get back the long five years he had been confined to the small cell in the prison nor we can return those golden time of his life he lost for none other than the madness of some immoral police officials nor the compensation we fix can recoup his travails and tribulation nor it can come any solace to the mental and physical agony he endured for the last five years in a jail nor the same can be any means in exchange for his five years illegal incarceration.

"…. it is the respective organ of the state to be responsible for that misdeed and thus must provide reparation for the damage committed by its officers to the victim, detenu. And in this particular case, it is the highest authority of the police force who must pay compensation … Therefore, the respondent no. 4 [IGP] is responsible for that," the HC judges said in the full text verdict.

The HC appreciated the media particularly for publishing reports on the incident involving Arman and the police officials concerned.

In another development, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday stayed for eight weeks the part of the HC verdict that directed the IGP to give Tk 20 lakh in compensation to Arman.

Chamber judge of the Appellate Division Justice Md Nuruzzaman passed the stay order following a petition filed by the IGP challenging the HC order.

The IGP will file a leave-to-appeal petition with the apex court challenging the HC verdict after receiving the full text, Deputy Attorney General Amit Das Gupta told The Daily Star.

He said the IGP office had recently submitted the stay petition to the Appellate Division saying that the HC has ordered the IGP to give Tk 20 lakh to Arman without assessing the damage. Besides, departmental action has been taken against the police officers, who are responsible for wrongly arresting and keeping Arman in jail and therefore, the IGP is not liable for giving any compensation, DAG Amit Das Gupta said, citing the IGP's petition.