THE first verdict under the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act, 2013 was given by Judge KM Emrul Kayesh of Metropolitan Sessions Judges Court who sentenced three ex-policemen former sub-inspector Jahidur Rahman, and former assistant sub-inspectors Qamruzzaman Mintu and Rashedul Islam of the capital’s Pallabi Police Station to life imprisonment and two other accused police informants Sumon and Russell to seven years’ in jail in the case filed over the custodial death of Ishtiaque Hossain Jonny who was tortured and killed in police custody in 2014.
The court also fined the three policemen Tk 1 lakh each, in default of which they will have to serve six more months in prison. It also fined the two other convicts Tk 20,000 each, in default of which they will serve three more months in prison. Besides, the court asked the three police officers to pay Tk 2 lakh each to the plaintiff as compensation. The trio will have to pay the compensation within 14 days, otherwise they will not be able to file an appeal against the verdict with the High Court.
Unfortunately the case is a reminder of just how difficult it is to file a case against the police in our country. The victim’s brother Imtiaz Hossain Rocky had to fight just to get the case accepted. Ultimately he had to go to court 450 times to get the verdict. Along the way he was threatened by the accused many times and even offered a large bribe to drop the case.
The government to remain in power depends on police as engine of oppression, suppression and killing without accountability. The police professionally are to be the people’s force for protecting the people. The legal system is also weak. The lower judiciary has to take into consideration the police power for taking cases against their crimes. So the political system must be changed for changing police attitude. If police is used as a political force we expect no change in police behaviour. But police must be saved.
