5 cops try to ‘frame trader in drug case’
Five policemen were rescued after locals confined them in Gouripur upazila for their alleged bid to frame a trader in a drug case early yesterday.
A plainclothes police team, led by Assistant Sub-inspector Abdul Awal of Gouripur Police Station, went to raid the mobile phone recharge shop of Khokon Mia, 30, at Ramgopalpur Bazar around 11:00pm on Sunday.
The four other team members were ASIs Ruhul Amin, Anwar Hossain and Kamrul Islam, and constable Al Amin.
Following the incident, the policemen were closed to Mymensingh Police Lines yesterday afternoon, said Shaker Hossain Siddiquee, additional superintendent of police (Gouripur circle).
Shibul Mia, president of traders’ association of the Bazar, who witnessed the raid, said ASIs Awal and Kamrul entered the shop and started searching the shop for drugs. But they did not get any drug there.
All of a sudden, ASI Anwar cried out from outside the shop that there were drugs in a bundle of electric cable, keeping one of his hands on the bundle.
Police recovered 10-12 yaba tablets from the bundle, said Faruk Mia, another shopkeeper in the Bazar, alleging that police had kept the pills there.
Shibul added that when Khokon was locked in an altercation with police over their bid to frame him in a case, policemen handcuffed Khokon and one of them punched him. He fell on the ground and became unconscious.
Hearing the news, locals rushed to the spot and confined the policemen to the traders’ association office and chanted slogans against the policemen, he said.
Khokon then took first aid at a private hospital, he added.
On information, ASP Shaker and Officer-in-Charge of Gouripur Police Station Abdullah Al Mamun rushed to the spot and heard locals’ allegations against the policemen.
The police officials assured the locals that they would investigate the incident to bring the perpetrators to book.
The five policemen were rescued from the spot around 2:00am, three hours after their confinement.
“Now we are investigating whether the policemen were misguided by their sources, or Khokon is involved in yaba trading, or the policemen had any vested interest,” said OC Abdullah.
The agitated locals also blocked Mymensingh-Kishoreganj road for two hours, protesting the incident.
Hearing the incident, Ramgopalpur Union Parishad Chairman Abdullah Al Amin Jhony went to the spot and urged the agitated locals to calm down.
Talking to this correspondent, the chairman said there was no allegation of criminal activities against Khokon.
“My six-member family depends on the income from this shop. But the incident has humiliated me socially and I want proper investigation into the incident and exemplary punishment of those involved,” said Khokon.
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