'Police sued me for sedition'

Here is the account of a student of Department of Television and Film Studies, Dhaka University, who narrated his story of torture in custody at the discussion. The story is told in his own words here. The Daily Star withholds his detailed identity for his security.

Apart from my studies, I used to write articles in newspapers. Politically I am a supporter of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal. On August 8, 2014, I left the Dhaka University campus to go home in Cox's Bazaar. Before going to Cox's Bazaar bus counter, I went to Baitul Mukarram mosque for Juma prayers.

Police caught me and asked me whether I was involved with Shibir or not. After my denial, they dragged me into a pickup van and brought me to Paltan Police Station.  They took my mobile phone and Tk 700.

At the police station, they searched my bag and found the draft copy of an article titled “Movement against the Government and what BNP should do”. They started beating me, took me to the room of the officer-in-charge. They asked me to say I was involved with Shibir. They beat every joint in my hands and legs. They wanted to know whether the article was a plan to topple the government. I told them that I did not write the article. A senior student of my university gave it to me to send to the newspaper office.

Later, I was charged with sedition based on the article, but police did not submit the article as evidence to the court. I was taken to the Detective Branch (DB) of police office and detained there.

After several interrogations, I was shown arrested and remanded for three days. I was sent to jail. After being detained in jail for 22 months, the court granted me bail on April 6, 2016 and I was released on April 13, 2016.

Due to torture, different parts of my body are not functioning properly. Sometimes I feel severe pain. When I was in jail, I appealed to the DU authority several times, through my relatives, to give me a statement so that I could continue my studies and appear at the exams from jail. But the university authority did not give me any testimonial. That is why I could not appear at any exam in the last two years.