Syed Shemul Parvez :
Death in law enforcement custody is increasing in an alarming rate across the country. The recent death incident in city’s Hatirjheel Police Station custody shocked the whole nation. People are angrily protesting against such repetition of incidents in the thana custody.
Though crossfire incidents have decreased in the recent time, deaths in police custody is on the rise. There had been two crossfire incidents in the first seven months of this year. But there were 11 deaths in custody.
According to the Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), there were 51 crossfire and 29 custodial deaths in the last year. Excluding crossfire, there were 24 custodial deaths in 2020, 32 in 2019, 54 in 2018 and 35 in 2017. Since the enactment of the Prevention of Torture and Death in Custody Act in 2013, only 19 cases have been registered so far. The accused have been convicted in one case. A detailed report has been given that the case is defective.
Noor Khan Litton, executive director of the Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), said that such incidents are constantly happening due to the culture of impunity and lack of accountability. He said that although the High Court has issued specific guidelines for law enforcement agencies regarding detention and interrogation, no one is following them.
Founding president of Human Rights Culture Foundation, former caretaker government advisor Sultana Kamal said it is the legal responsibility of the police to ensure the safety of any person in custody. The death of a person in custody is certainly a serious matter and should be fully investigated.
Hatirjheel police arrested a young man named Suman Sheikh in the case of theft last Friday. His death was reported on Saturday morning. Suman’s family members alleged that Suman was tortured and killed.
Suman’s family alleged that the manager of the showroom in Rampura, where he worked as a van driver, killed Suman by the police to avoid the responsibility for the stolen Tk 53 lakh.
It is alleged that to avoid responsibility for the death of Suman Sheikh in the custody of Dhaka’s Hatirjheel Police Station, the police themselves were distributing CCTV footage to journalists. They want to mark it as suicide.
But any kind of custodial death and torture is a crime under the existing laws of the country. For this, the case must be taken first. Legal analysts said that not taking the case is also a crime.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Tejgaon Division, HM Azimul Haque, told the media saying that Suman committed suicide by hanging himself with the trousers he was wearing. In this incident, duty officer Hemayet Hossain and police guard Md. Zakaria has been suspended.
In another recent incident, a man named Siddique Ahmed, 62, who was in the custody of DB under Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) died at Dhaka Medical College (DMH) Hospital.
Last Tuesday, DB Police arrested him along with 1,000 Yaba tablets from Ramna area of the capital.
Mentionable that September 2020 saw the first death in police custody in Bangladesh since the enactment of the Prevention of Torture and Deaths in Custody Act in 2013.
After six years in the case of the death of a man named Ishtiaq Hossain Johnny in police custody in 2014, the court sentenced three policemen to life imprisonment. The other two were sentenced to seven years in prison.
Regarding the delay in the trial, Public Prosecutor (PP) Abdullah Abu of the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court said, “I don’t see any reason for the delay.” After the case, the investigation will be done, after that the charge sheet will be filed. Now if the investigation is delayed, the charge sheet is delayed, then it is the responsibility of the police.
“Supreme Court lawyer Azizur Rahman Dulu said, “When someone is in police custody, it is the responsibility of the police to provide all kinds of security.
If there is an accused in the police station, at least two policemen must be on guard for 24 hours. And there was also CCTV cameras in that police station. That was also monitoring. So how did Suman commit suicide? If he commits suicide, then he commits suicide due to negligence of the police. Police will be held responsible for that.
“The police headquarters has ordered the members of each unit of Bangladesh Police to be more vigilant to avoid death in police custody. Police Headquarters DIG Operations Haider Ali Khan said that every unit and every member of the police headquarters is always instructed to be vigilant so that no death occurs in police custody.
