Handcuffed to Hospital Bed: HC orders police to explain why they did it

The High Court yesterday summoned Officer-in-Charge of Ashulia police Mohsinul Quader to appear before it tomorrow to explain why a Jahangirnagar University student had been handcuffed during his treatment.

An HC bench of Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice AKM Zahirul Hoque came up with the order and a suo moto rule when drawn to Monday's news in The Daily Star with headline “Handcuffed to hospital bed”.

Lawyer for Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), SM Rezaul Karim placed the report before the HC bench for necessary orders.

JU student Nazmul Hossain fell sick on Saturday while protesting deaths of two fellow students in a road crash in Savar the day before.

READ MORE: Handcuffed to hospital bed

He was first taken to the university medical centre. But police allegedly forced him to get admitted to Enam Medical Hospital so that they could arrest him there. Nazmul was handcuffed when he was receiving treatment at the hospital in Savar in the early hours of Sunday.

Police rejected Nazmul's request to remove the handcuffs so that he could eat, witnesses and fellow students said.

Two photos of a handcuffed Nazmul, a master's student of the government and politics department and general secretary of Jahangirnagar Cultural Alliance, went viral, triggering a firestorm of protests on Facebook.

As two JU students died in a road accident on Friday, students blocked Dhaka-Aricha road the next day demanding punishment of those responsible.

Police and Chhatra League activists went in action to disperse them, leaving some students injured. The protesters then took positions near the residence of the JU vice-chancellor and allegedly damaged some valuable things.

JU Registrar Abu Bakr Siddique filed a vandalism case with Ashulia Police Station, accusing 30 named and over 20 unnamed people. Later, police showed 42 JU students including Nazmul arrested in the case.

In its ruling, the HC also asked the authorities to explain why handcuffing Nazmul during his treatment should not be declared illegal.

The home secretary, inspector general of police and deputy inspector general of police of Dhaka range, superintendent of police of Dhaka and the OC of Ashulia police have been made respondents to the rule.

Contacted, OC Mohsinul said police had the authority to handcuff any arrestee if they suspected that he would flee.

Action will be taken against policemen if found guilty in a probe of wrongdoing, he added.

Meanwhile, “Shikkhak Shikkharthi Oikya Mancha (Teachers-Students Unity Platform) yesterday gave five days' ultimatum to the university authority for fulfilling demands that the case filed against students be withdrawn and the authority bear the expenses of the treatment of injured students, punish those who had carried out attacks on students during their protest and ensure normalcy in the university.

The Oikya Mancha issued the ultimatum following a meeting with JU Vice-chancellor Dr Farzana Islam.

Talking to The Daily Star, Rayhan Rhyne, spokesperson of the Oikya Mancha, said they hoped the university authority would take proper measures to fulfill their demands.

“We will announce our next course of action, including a human chain, if the demands are not met,” he said.

NAZMUL'S STATEMENT

As he fell sick in front of the VC's residence, he attempted to go to the university's medical centre with his friends.

“But police didn't let me go from the VC's residence to the medical centre for around 40 minutes. Following a teacher's request police however allowed me to go to the medical centre with one of my friends.

“When I reached the medical centre, two Chhatra League activists locked me inside a room while a doctor was treating me at the time. Later the Chhatra League activists told me that a teacher wanted to talk to me.”

Four to five people then forced him into an ambulance. He blacked out.

When Nazmul regained consciousness, he found himself lying on a bed at Enam Medical College Hospital with handcuffs put on one of his hands. 

Earlier on Sunday, one of Nazmul's friends said police forced him to get admitted to the Enam hospital so that they could arrest him.