Hearing of ex-OC's plea against verdict begins

A defence lawyer yesterday finally started placing arguments in an appeal against a lower court verdict handing down three years' imprisonment to suspended Khilgaon Police Station's officer-in-charge Md Helal Uddin for torturing an ex-Dhaka University student.

The hearing date of the appeal, filed following the conviction last year, has been deferred repeatedly.

On May 17, 2015, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Alamgir Kabir Raj passed the verdict in Helal's absence for torturing Abdul Kadar in custody in July 2011. Helal surrendered before it seeking bail and the court on May 31, 2015 sent him to jail.

Yesterday Advocate Shafiqur Rahman placed his arguments for half an hour and later Judge Zahidul Kabir of the Fifth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court of Dhaka fixed June 22 for the next hearing.  

Earlier The Daily Star ran a report that Kadar, now a teacher of Comilla Victoria College, is under tremendous pressure to withdraw the case he had filed against Helal, who had arrested him in a false extortion case and tortured him in custody.

Kadar and his family sources said Helal has been threatening them seeking withdrawal of the case. Then a student of biochemistry and molecular biology, Kadar was detained on charges of robbery when he was returning to his dormitory around 1:30am on July 16, 2011.

Later, police implicated Kadar in three false cases. But following media outcry, the High Court on July 28 ordered the inspector general of police to probe into the incident.

Three officials of Khilgaon Police Station, including Helal, were suspended and Kadar was released on bail on August 3.

Kadar was acquitted of all charges in 2012. He sued Helal on January 23, 2012 for torturing him and filing the false cases.