2 CID men ‘framed trader for murder’

Two police officers -- a special superintendent and a sub-inspector of the Criminal Investigation Department -- allegedly confined a trader to the CID headquarters for about three days and then framed him in a murder case as he refused to pay them extortion money, according to a complaint the trader filed with the PMO.

The 46-year-old trader, Yakub Ali, alleged that he had been tortured after he refused to pay Tk 10 lakh to Sub-inspector Dolon Majumder, the investigation officer of the murder case. His family later paid Dolon Tk 2 lakh so that he is spared from torture and also hassles of the case. 

Contacted, Dolon claimed that the trader's allegations were false and his name came up after a witness in the case gave a statement before a court under Section-164.

But the witness, who gave the statement, later submitted an affidavit to a court, saying she was forced to give the statement against the trader as she and four of her family members, including her daughter and son, were kept confined to the CID headquarters for three days.

In the complaint, Yakub alleged that Special Superintendent of CID (Dhaka North) Khalidul Haq Hawlader and Dolon framed him in the case.

The trader said he was in jail for one and a half months after he had been shown arrested in the case on June 13.

Securing bail on July 28, Yakub lodged the complaint with the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on August 11and sent its copies and relevant documents to home and law ministries, the police headquarters and the CID headquarters.

According to the complaint, a CID team detained Yakub on June 10, confined him to their headquarters for 60 hours, tortured him and then produced him before a Dhaka court on June 13 seeking his remand for seven days. The court granted one day.

"I fell sick from torture on June 12. They took me to Rajarbagh Police Hospital by an ambulance and I was treated there.

"SI Dolon demanded Tk 10 lakh from me… My brother later gave him Tk 2 lakh so that I'm spared from torture and hassles," Yakub alleged.

Following the allegations, Serious Crime Investigation Unit of the CID was recently tasked with carrying out the probe in the case.

On June 20 last year, a 20-year-old man named Khairul Islam died from electrocution after falling from the third floor of a building where he had gone to meet a girl in the capital's Badda area, said locals.

His father Abdul Quddus Sikder on July 1 last year filed a murder case with Badda Police Station.

According to the case statement, Khairul had a relationshipwith the girl for five years, which her father didn't approve of. When Khairul went to her house on June 20 last year, four to five unidentified persons, including the girl's father, beat him up and pushed him down to the tin-roof of an adjacent house. And Khairul got electrocuted.

Inquest and autopsy reports of the deceased said Khairul died from electrocution, suffering severe electrical burns.

The post-mortem report, prepared by Sohel Mahmud, the then head of forensic medicine at Dhaka Medical College, on June 23 last year, said Khairul suffered 60 percent burns on his body from electrocution.

"The CID officers, however, are now saying that I brought kerosene and gave it to the girl's father who set Khairul alight. After I was taken to the CID Headquarters on June 10, they said the girl's father contacted me over mobile phone on the day of the incident and asked me to get kerosene…

"I told them I knew nothing about it and had no contact with the girl's father. But they handcuffed me, blindfolded me, and took me to another room. There they tortured me," Yakub alleged.

He also said the CID officers could not show the call records of the mobile phone through which, according to them, the girl's father contacted him.

On July 27 last year, the girl gave a statement in which she didn't mention Yakub's involvement in the incident. She said Khairul slipped off the roof and got electrocuted.

However, around 11 months after the incident, the girl's mother gave a statement under Section-164 on June 12, saying her husband caught Khairul when he came to meet their daughter and beat him up on June 20 last year.

The girl's father then called his friend Yakub over phone to bring kerosene and then poured it on Khairul. To save his life, Khairul jumped off the roof and got electrocuted.

But on June 27, the girl and her mother submitted separate affidavits to a Metropolitan Magistrate's Court, saying the IO asked them and three of their family members to go to the CID headquarters on June 10 and they did so.

The CID officers there confined them for three days and later forced the girl's mother to give a statement against Yakub, according to the affidavits.

Talking to this newspaper, SI Dolon claimed that the allegations brought by Yakub and others are false.

"No such incident [of extortion] happened. His [Yakub] name came up following the statement by the girl's mother. We didn't force anyone to give statement under Section-164," the SI said.

This newspaper called Khalidul at least 25 times on his office and personal phone numbers and sent him messages for comments, but he didn't respond.

Contacted, Sheikh Omar Faruque, additional deputy inspector general of the CID, said Yakub's name came up following a probe.

"In the investigation, the CID found Yakub brought kerosene and gave it to the girl's father on the day of the incident. We are now looking for the girl's father, who has been absconding."

About the allegations, Faruque said the accused may bring various allegations to escape the charges. Since allegations have been raised against the officers, the department concerned will investigate the matter.

Asked, Rezaul Haque, additional deputy inspector general (Discipline) at the Police Headquarters, said he couldn't recall the complaint immediately and that he has to see the relevant documents before commenting on the matter.