Man was abroad, yet accused of sabotage

Sadaqat

His passport records say he went to India on July 3 last year through the Benapole Land Port and flew back home on July 19.

But interestingly, Sadaqat Khan Fakku, a leader of the Urdu-speaking community in Bangladesh, was charged along with 40 others in two cases filed over gathering in front of the Adhunik Hospital in the capital’s Pallabi area on July 7 that year to carry out sabotage and subversion.  

However, nothing untoward happened that day as the members of the group dispersed following a police chase, according to the charge sheet. 

Police arrested one Jahurul Islam Sohel from the spot and recovered 23 cocktails from his possession, the charge sheet read, adding that the others, including Fakku, ran away. 

The cases were filed a day later on July 8. 

Police said Fakku and others gathered there to carry out sabotage as part of their anti-government movement to free BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.  

On December 31, after more than five months of investigation, Sub-Inspector Arif Hossain of Pallabi Police Station pressed charges against 41 people in the two cases. 

“I was receiving treatment abroad during that time. How could I gather in Pallabi and carry out subversive activities?” Fakku, president of the Urdu-Speaking People Youth Rehabilitation Movement Bangladesh, asked while talking to The Daily Star.  

He alleged that police framed him in the cases in an attempt to gag him as he raised voice against a local influential quarter who had been trying to evict their community from Mirpur. 

Fakku came to know about the cases and charge-sheet submission recently when a policeman told him that he was wanted in both the cases filed under the Explosive Substances Act and the Special Powers Act. 

He has already secured bail from a court to avoid arrest.  

Earlier, dozens of cases were filed in the months before the December 30 election where dead men, bed-ridden patients, and expatriates were accused of different crimes. 

Several media outlets reported on the “ghost cases” that sparked outrage.  

Fakku blamed Pallabi Police Station Officer-in-Charge Nazrul Islam for inserting his name in the charge sheets.  

“Though I am not involved in the BNP, I along with 50 other Bihari people, was implicated in another political case filed on December 23, just days before the last general election,” he said.  

Fakku said he visited Pallabi Police Station at least five to seven times this year but no police official informed him about the cases and allegations against him.  

He also said he had participated in a programme on law and order situation held at the police station days before the Holey Ashura observed on September 10 this year.  

Preferring anonymity, a mid-ranked official at Dhaka Metropolitan Police said, “Names can be added mistakenly in a case, but those are usually dropped before submission of the charge sheet.  

“An officer can include new names in the charge sheet, but he needs to have evidence,” he said.  

Hearing Fakku’s incident, the official said his name might have been included with ill intention.  

Contacted, OC Nazrul denied the allegation brought against him. 

“The charge sheet was prepared based on information found during the investigation,” the OC said. 

The correspondent called Arif Hossain, investigation officer of the cases, yesterday afternoon.  

A man received the call and said Arif was currently visiting India for treatment.