An innocent man languishing in jail!

We are shocked to learn that an innocent man has been languishing in jail for the last three years in cases filed by the ACC while the real accused is roaming free. According to news reports, the real accused was Abu Salek who misappropriated around Tk 18 crore from Sonali Bank between 2010 and 2011. But unfortunately, the anti-graft watchdog had framed charges against Jaha Alam, a jute mill worker, after identifying him as Abu Salek. Although the man claimed before the ACC that they were mistaken, his words were not taken seriously.

What we don't understand is how the bank officials identified Jaha Alam as Abu Salek as the picture given in the bank's form was not Jaha Alam's. Thus the questions that naturally arise are: What is the standard procedure of verifying one's identity according to our law? Did the authorities maintain that procedure while identifying the accused? If not, what could be the possible reasons behind this? Was this a mistake or was it a deliberate attempt to save the actual accused who has been in hiding?

It took three long years for the ACC to realise their mistake and by the time it submitted to the court to exempt Jaha Alam from prosecution, precious three years of his life had already been lost. His poor family has become penniless bearing the expenses of the cases. Those responsible for the sufferings of Jaha Alam and his family should be identified and brought to justice since what happened to him is a crime. Also, the victim of this outrageous negligence should be compensated adequately.