Staff Reporter :
The High Court (HC) on Monday directed police to remove handcuffs of three hospitalised Santals of Gaibandha who were injured and arrested in a case filed for attacking police with arrows during a clash on November 6.
The HC Bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice Krishna Debnath passed the order and rule after a writ petition filed with the court seeking its order upon the government to open the handcuff of the three Santals.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Rangpur Range
Superintendent of Police, Gaibandha have been directed to implement this order. They will also have to submit a report before the HC by November 16 after complying with the order.
The HC also issued a rule asking them to explain in two weeks as to why handcuffing Choron Soren, Bimal Kisku and Dijen Tudu at the time of treatment should not be declared illegal.
Two of the Santals are now receiving treatment at Rangpur Medical College Hospital, while another at National Institute of Ophthalmology (NIO) in Dhaka.
A Supreme Court lawyer, Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, submitted the petition following a report published in a leading daily on November 13 under the caption “Santal man being treated with handcuffed, tied.”
Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua also took part in hearing in favour of his petition and Deputy Attorney General Motahar Hosen Saju stood for the state in the court.
The three were arrested on November 7 after Gobindaganj police filed the case against 34 named and 300 unnamed people for allegedly attacking the law enforcers. They were being treated at different hospitals with their hands cuffed and tied.
The clash on November 6 ensued at Shahebganj cane farm of Rangpur Sugar Mills, located in Gobindaganj upazila of Gaibandha, over harvesting sugarcane. The clash left two Santals dead and 25 people, including nine cops, injured.
During the Pakistan regime in 1952, the government had acquired 1,840 acres of land at Shahebganj to set up a sugarcane farm.
