Kurigram journalist assault: trial against former DC, 3 executive magistrates to continue
The Supreme Court today cleared the way for a lower court concerned to continue trial proceedings against former deputy commissioner of Kurigram Sultana Pervin, three executive magistrates, and several Ansar members in a case filed for assaulting journalist Ariful Islam Regan in March last year.
The three executive magistrates are Senior Assistant Commissioner Nazim Uddin, and assistant commissioners Rintu Bikash Chakma and SM Rahatul Islam. All of them were suspended.
The apex court also dismissed a leave to appeal petition filed by Nazim Uddin, executive magistrate and an accused of the case, challenging the trial proceedings of the case.
In the petition, Nazim Uddin sought stay on the trial proceedings of the case against him saying that departmental proceedings have already been initiated against him and he was not involved in assaulting journalist Ariful Islam.
Today, a three-member bench of the Appellate Division of the SC headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the dismissal order after hearing the petition.
Ishrat Hasan, lawyer of Ariful who is the Kurigram correspondent of Bangla Tribune and Dhaka Tribune, told The Daily Star that the High Court on March 23 last year directed police to immediately record Kurigram journalist Ariful Islam's assault and attempted murder case against the then DC Sultana Pervin, three of her colleagues, and the Ansar personnel concerned.
The then DC and the three assistant commissioners, who were suspended, are fugitives in the eye of law as they are yet to surrender to the trial court in connection with the case, the lawyer said.
In the early hours of March 14 last year, a mobile court of Kurigram district administration, led by three assistant commissioners -- allegedly following DC Sultana's directives -- sentenced Ariful to one-year imprisonment after his arrest from his home on charges of possessing narcotics.
On March 23 last year, the High Court also stayed the proceedings of the case filed by the mobile court against Ariful, his conviction, and sentence.
Citing the writ petition, lawyer Ishrat told The Daily Star today that it was done as Ariful wrote about the alleged corruption by the district administration, including DC Sultana.