Mirpur cops to face trial

A Dhaka court yesterday accepted charges against sub-inspector Jahidur Rahman of Mirpur Police Station and four others in a case filed for the death of garment-waste trader Mahbubur Rahman Sujan in police custody.

The Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court passed the order after examining a judicial probe report on the death of 35-year-old Sujan, who was allegedly tortured to death by some members of the police station on July 13 last year.

The probe found involvement of SI Jahidur, Assistant Sub-inspector Raj Kumar, constables Asad and Rashedul of Mirpur Police Station, and another person named Mithun.

It, however, didn't find involvement of Officer-in-Charge of the police station Salauddin Ahmed in the incident.

SI Jahidur and Mithun are now behind bars while Raj Kumar, Asad and Rashedul have been absconding.

Jahidur, who was suspended in connection with the case for murdering Sujan, had previously been “closed” at Pallabi Police Station on February 10 last year for his alleged involvement in the custodial death of another person, said police sources.

Sujan's wife Momtaz Sultana Lucy filed the murder case with the court on July 20, accusing 10 people, including OC Salauddin.

The court accepted the case and asked Metropolitan Magistrate SM Ashiqur Rahman to probe the allegations. In the meantime, the case was handed over to the Detective Branch (DB) of police.

Magistrate Ashiqur submitted the probe report to the court on November 11 last year.

In the case statement, Lucy said an autopsy on Sujan's body found that he died from torture wounds. She also alleged that Jahidur had been pressing Sujan for around two years to give him a handsome amount of money.

As Sujan declined to meet the demand, SI Jahid, Raj Kumar, Asad and Rashedul went to Sujan's Shankar house in the wee hours of July 13. They gagged Sujan with a towel, cuffed his hands and tied his legs with ropes.

They then took Sujan to the bathroom, dipped his head in the water in a bucket and beat him with an iron rod, she said.

The policemen then took Sujan, Lucy and their five-year-old son Rabbi to Mirpur Police Station. Reaching there, SI Jahidur talked to someone over his wireless set addressing the person as “sir”.

“I have brought the traitor… beating him up. What should I do now, sir?” Lucy quoted Jahid as saying on the wireless set.

Around 9:00am on July 13, Jahidur took her to OC Salauddin's room. The OC told Lucy that her husband fell sick and had been admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

When Lucy told him that she wanted to visit her husband at the DMCH, the OC asked her to sign on a blank paper before leaving for the hospital. She refused to do so, according to the case statement.