ASI sued for ‘assaulting’ madrasa girl at police station

A case was filed yesterday against an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) for physical assault on a seventh-grade madrasa girl inside Rajapur Police Station in Jhalakathi on April 24.

The girl’s mother Ambia Begum filed the case with Senior Judicial Magistrate’s Court in Jhalakathi.

The girl, Rabeya Aktar, 12, daughter of Kashem Howlader from Rajapur upazila in Jhalakathi, is a student at Angaria Madrasa in the same upazila, said Advocate Akkas Shikder, lawyer for the complainant. 

Senior Judicial Magistrate Sheikh Anisuzaman ordered the officer-in-charge (OC) of Rajapur Police Station to record the case and send the file to Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) for investigation, added the lawyer. 

According to the case statement, on March 17, Ambia went to the police station to file a different case.

While looking for the OC at the station, she met ASI Kalam who assured her of helping her in all procedures of filing the case in exchange for Tk 5,000. 

Although Ambia complied and paid him the amount that day, the ASI called her on her cell phone a number of times later, demanding an additional Tk 5,000 for filing the case.

On April 24, ASI Kalam brought Ambia, her husband and their daughter, Rabeya, to the police station after finding out that his phone conversations, making illegal demands for money from Ambia, were recorded with Rabeya’s help.   

At one stage, the ASI physically assaulted Rabeya in front of her parents and took away the memory card from Ambia’s phone by force, alleged Ambia in her case statement.

Contacted, ASI Kalam said, “I did not torture any girl inside the police station and the allegation brought against me is false.”