Probe to find if policemen were involved

The High Court yesterday directed the chief judicial magistrate in Gaibandha to conduct an enquiry to find out whether any policemen were involved in setting fire to Santal houses during an eviction drive in Gobindaganj upazila.

In response to a petition by three rights bodies, the court asked the magistrate to take steps to track down those involved in the arson, and submit the probe report to it within 15 days.

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The HC directive came after different national and global media outlets published a video content in which a policeman in uniform and a man in a half-sleeve shirt are seen apparently joining another man in a pink T-shirt in torching a Santal shanty during the November 6 eviction. The video clip went viral on the social media.

Santals have all along alleged that it was policemen who had set their houses ablaze.

Refuting the allegation, the district police have claimed that miscreants did it, and they are yet to identify the culprits.

A clash broke out between the Santals, Rangpur Sugar Mills staff and police over eviction of the members of the indigenous community from the disputed land in Gobindaganj on November 6.

The clash left three Santal men dead and 20 others, including nine policemen, injured.

The district administration formed a one-member committee, headed by Gaibandha Additional District Magistrate Mizanur Rahman, on November 17 to probe the incident. But the committee has not completed its job even in 38 days since the incident. 

Asked, Mizanur said, “Investigation is going on. It will take more time.”

On November 16, three rights bodies -- Ain o Salish Kendra, Brotee, and Association for Land Reform and Development filed a writ petition, seeking HC directives upon the government for ensuring security of lives and properties of the Santals.

Yesterday, they submitted a supplementary petition to the court, attaching to it copies of media reports that police set fire to Santal houses.

In its order, the HC bench directed police to take two Santals' complaints as first information report and probe those.

Victims Swapan Murmu and Thomas Hembrom filed two separate complaints with Gobindaganj Police Station on November 16 and 26 over the eviction drive.

The court said the deputy inspector general of police of Rangpur range would take initiative for investigation and an officer of the Police Bureau of Investigation will conduct the probe under supervision of a police officer not below the rank of superintendent of police.

The HC bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice Krishna Debnath fixed January 8 for passing further order on the matter.

Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, several rights activists and a former top police official said if any policeman is found involved in the arson, he must be handed down exemplary punishment.  

Nur Mohammad, former inspector general of police, said if it's true that policemen were involved in torching Santal houses, stern action must be taken against them.

“There is no alternative to taking tough action against the policemen involved in the arson,” he said, adding that usually political goons do such things.

Referring to the Santals, Nur Mohammad, also a former secretary, said police, as a law enforcement agency, should have given all kinds of support to the marginalised people.

“Police involvement in the arson seems very unusual to me. The video clip should also be examined, as it still appears unbelievable to me that police could do this,” said the former IGP. 

Human rights activist Sanjeeb Drong said, “Though it's late, we hail the High Court order.”

We want to see the culprits punished, whoever they are.”

Referring to the Nasirnagar attacks on the Hindus, he said at least the UNO and the officer-in-charge of Nasirnagar Police Station were withdrawn from there, but no action was taken over the Gobindaganj incident.

“All the culprits [in the Gobindaganj incident] are moving freely. It seems the State does not consider Santals as human beings,” Sanjeeb said.

Eminent rights activist Sultana Kamal said, “If policemen are found guilty of torching the houses, they should be punished. It's a heinous crime.”

The allegations against police are distressing, as they are supposed to protect the weak, she said.

Prof Mizanur Rahman, former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, said, “The incident will go down as one of the most shameful episodes in the history of Bangladesh's law enforcement agencies.”

“It is totally unacceptable in a democracy,” he said, demanding exemplary punishment to the culprits.

Contacted, Ashraful Islam, superintendent of police in Gaibandha, refused to make any comment, saying the HC already issued an order on the matter.

Seeking anonymity, a top official at the police headquarters said they were probing to know whether members of the police were involved in setting fire to Santal houses.

“We have taken the matter very seriously.”

The official also said someone with an ulterior motive may have doctored the video clip.