Custodial Death of Jonny: HC upholds life term for two former cops

The High Court yesterday upheld the life imprisonment of two former police officers and reduced another officer's life term to 10 years imprisonment in a case over the custodial death of Ishtiaque Hossain Jonny, a garment-waste trader from Dhaka's Mirpur, 11 years ago.

This is the first High Court verdict in a case filed under the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act, 2013.

The court upheld the life term of Zahidur Rahman, former sub-inspector of Pallabi Police Station, dismissing his appeal against the trial court verdict.

It did not say anything about the life imprisonment of former assistant sub-inspector Qamaruzzaman Mintu, who has been absconding and did not appeal against the trial court verdict, meaning his sentence remains in place.

Both Zahidur and Qamaruzzaman will have to pay Tk 2 lakh each in compensation to Jonny's family and Tk 1 lakh each as a fine to the state.

Meanwhile, former assistant SI Rashedul Islam's life sentence was reduced to 10 years in prison. He was ordered to pay Tk 25,000 in compensation to Jonny's family and Tk 50,000 as a fine to the state, said defence lawyer Md Abdur Razzak Razu.

Police informer Russell, sentenced earlier to seven years in jail, was acquitted. Another informer, Sumon, who had also received a seven-year sentence, has already served his term.

Delivering the verdict on the appeals of three convicted accused, the court said documents and evidence, including inquest and post-mortem reports, proved that Jonny, an innocent young man, was illegally detained and brutally tortured to death by police in custody.

As a state institution, the police cannot avoid responsibility for the illegal detention, inhuman torture, and death, the court observed.

The court also said the fact that there were 86 police personnel present at Pallabi Police Station during the incident, none of whom reported it to higher authorities, showed a complete collapse of internal supervision, monitoring, and accountability.

The bench of Justice SM Kuddus Zaman and Justice AKM Rabiul Hassan delivered the verdict after hearing the appeals.

Jonny's younger brother, Imtiaz Hossain Rocky, told The Daily Star that he was satisfied with the upholding of Zahidur's life sentence but expressed concern for his safety following the commutation of another sentence and the acquittal of Russell.

"I was already living in fear and panic. Now that one accused has been acquitted, I don't know what will happen," he said.

Jonny's mother Khurshida Begum said she was satisfied with the verdict but urged the state to take responsibility for Jonny's two children and provide them with compensation.

According to the case statement, police informers Sumon and Russell called law enforcers after Jonny slapped Sumon for stalking and harassing women at a wedding programme in Pallabi's Irani Camp area.

Then, a team of 25–26 police officers, including Zahidur, raided a house and detained Jonny and Rocky on February 8, 2014. Afterwards, the two were tortured at Pallabi Police Station.

The next day, Jonny fell ill and was taken to a local clinic before being transferred to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Rocky filed the murder case with the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court in Dhaka on August 8, 2014.

On September 9, 2020, a Dhaka court sentenced Zahidur, Qamaruzzaman, and Rashedul to life imprisonment and informers Sumon and Russell to seven years in jail.

Qamaruzzaman remains on the run, while Russell, who had been absconding during the trial court verdict, later surrendered.