Staff Reporter :
Chairman of the national human rights commission Kazi Reazul Haque reiterated demand for proper investigation into the death of Teknaf’s municipal ward councillor Ekramul Haque as it caught the attention of the nation for being an outrageous extrajudicial killing during anti-drug drive last month.
He raised the demand while visiting the residence of Ekramul at Kaubkhali, Teknaf upazila yesterday afternoon, local sources said.
During his half-an-hour visit, the national rights body chief talked to Ekramul’s mother as Ekram’s wife and two daughters are staying in Chittagong. “I have heard the audio clips which are thought to be linked to the murder of Ekramul,” Hoque told the media after wrapping up his visit. “The commission has already urged the government to investigate the incident properly and I reiterate the call again,” he said. Ekramul was one of the countless victims killed during the nationwide anti-drug drive. Though the law enforcers initially identified him as a drug peddler, a chilling and unverified audio later caught showed he was wrongly targeted. The audio recording caught the nation by storm. Many decried the incident as a hard proof of extrajudicial killing and demanded proper investigation. On the spate of deaths caused by the anti-narcotics drive, which claimed nearly 160 lives so far with the count rising regularly, the NHRC chief said: “We want a drive against narcotics, but we are against any extra-judicial killing.” He said, the commission is drafting a guideline for the law enforcers on how they will conduct their activities and they will hand over the guideline to the concerned authorities on its completion
