Getting confessional statement forcefully is unfortunate: HC
The High Court today said that getting a confessional statement by using force is an unfortunate matter.
"We still don't know whether the confessional statement from Bogura's minor boy, in his younger brother's murder case, was taken forcefully. If the allegation of taking confessional statement forcefully in this case is true, it is very unfortunate for the country," the HC bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim and Justice Md Atoar Rahman said.
The bench made this observation during a hearing on a criminal revision petition filed challenging the legality of the trial proceedings at the Juvenile Court in Bogura, in connection with the case where an underage boy was accused of murdering his eight-year-old brother.
The HC bench asked the state council to look into the allegation and fixed June 29 for further hearing of the petition.
In today's hearing, petitioners' lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir told the HC bench that a father in Bogura has lost his eight-year-old son and his older son aged 12, has been implicated in the murder case. The father and his family have been compelled to leave their home, he said.
Lawyer Shishir Manir said, the 12-year-old boy was tortured, and later forced to give confessional statement but the concerned juvenile court in Bogura has not taken any legal step to this effect although there is a law in this regard.
He also said that his clients have submitted this criminal revision petition to the HC for necessary directives on the authorities to conduct a fair inquiry into the issue.
Deputy Attorney General, Dr Md Bashir Ullah, opposed the criminal revision petition saying that the petitioners could have sought necessary directives through a writ petition.
Five Supreme Court lawyers - Ahammed Abdullah Khan, Md Zahirul Islam, Md Mustafizur Rahman, Md Zobaidur Rahman, and Imrul Kayes- collectively filed the criminal revision petition as a public interest litigation to the HC yesterday, challenging the legality of the trial proceedings at the juvenile court in Bogura, in connection with the case where the underage boy was accused of murdering his younger brother.
Advocate Shishir Manir placed the petition to the HC bench along with a copy of The Daily Star report on the matter, as well as its video report, as supporting documents.
In the petition, they prayed to the HC bench to summon for the case documents from the juvenile court and take necessary step to remedy the "gross injustice".
The Daily Star on June 11 published a report titled "Bearing the unbearable", and a follow-up video about the ordeal of Mohidul Islam's family.
On August 25, 2015, body of Mohidul's son Sohag was found in a jute field in Bogura's Katakhali. A day later, Mohidul filed a case with Sariakandi Police Station.