Ex-ACC official dies in police custody

A former Anti-Corruption Commission official died in police custody in Chattogram on Tuesday night after cops allegedly did not let his family members give the 65-year-old man medicines needed for his heart condition.

Police refuted the allegation and said that officers took Sayed Mohammad Shahidullah, a retired deputy director of the ACC, to a hospital after he fell sick.

Shahidullah was arrested in front of his house on Tuesday night in Bahaddarhat area on charges of torturing a woman who used to work at his house as a domestic help, said Khairul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Chandgaon Police Station.

Shahidullah's nephew and neighbour Robiul Hasan Faisal told The Daily Star that he witnessed the moment two men in plainclothes forcibly picked Shahidullah up.

"Uncle Shahidullah was taking a walk near his house after dinner around 10:30pm when two policemen dragged him away. His brother, another neighbour and I then went to the police station with his medicines. But the police neither let us enter, nor took the medicines we brought for him. They kept the main gate closed," Faisal said.

"After a while, one of the officers who detained Uncle Shahidullah came out and started looking for a three-wheeler. We then entered the police station and found him unconscious on a chair. We then hired an autorickshaw, and took him to Park View Hospital where he died."

At the mortuary of Chattogram Medical College, Shahidullah's son Nafiz Shahid, said, "We want justice. My father was fit. He walked to the police station, but came out dead. We will file a case in this regard."

"We received no notice that a case was filed. The officers who picked him up did not show any warrant. Police didn't tell us anything. Our neighbours informed us.

"My father went through an open-heart surgery. Recently, two arteries were found blocked. But due to his health condition, the doctors did not go for another surgery."

Chattogram Metropolitan Police yesterday formed a three-member committee led by a deputy commissioner of the Detective Branch to investigate the allegations and come up with a report in three work days.

OC Khairul said, "Shahidullah was sitting on a chair after two officers brought him to the police station. After a while, Shahidullah complained of chest pain. Police informed his family members and called an ambulance. As the ambulance was taking time, policemen and Shahidullah's brother got a three-wheeler and took him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead."

The OC added that Shahidullah died around 11:15pm.

According to Ain o Salish Kendra, three people died in police custody and one in Rab custody in the first nine months of the year.