A dead body of a person, named Shanu Hawlader, was recovered from the room of an Inspector (Investigation) at Amtoli Police Station, Barguna. Although the police claimed that Shanu Hawlader had committed suicide, the family members of the victim alleged that Shanu had been tortured to death by OC Abul Bashar and Inspector (Investigation) Monoranjan Mistri as the family failed to give the three lakh taka that was demanded by them. Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) expresses grave concern for this incident. Besides, ASK demands not only temporary suspension, but that through a fair investigation, proper legal punishment of the perpetrators are ensured.

According to media reports, the incident took place in the morning of 26 March 2020, at Amtoli Police Station, Barguna. Back on 3 November 2019, some miscreants killed a person named Ibrahim in Kolagachia, Gulishakhali Union, Amtoli Upazila. Mijanur Rahman, step brother of deceased Shanu, was named as the accused in the First Information Report (FIR). On 23 March 2020, during the midnight at around 11:30, Amtoli police captured Shanu Hawlader, brother of the accused, for interrogation as a suspect. In the morning of 26 March, it was informed from the Police Station that Shanu Hawlader committed suicide hanging himself at the room of the Police Inspector (Investigation). However, the family members of the victim alleged that after arresting Shanu, OC Abul Bashar and Inspector (Investigation) Monoranjan Mistri of the Amtoli Police Station demanded three lakh taka as ransom. Shanu’s son gave 10 thousand taka to the OC. They alleged that Shanu was tortured to death in the name of interrogation as they failed to give the rest of the money. For this incident, Monoranjan Mistri, Inspector (Investigation) and Md. Arifur Rahman, duty officer of Amtoli Police Station were temporarily dismissed. A three-member investigation committee has been formed.

Although the police has claimed the death as a suicide, it is not quite believable. A number of important questions has been trigged through this incident, which are extremely significant. Why was the brother of the accused arrested instead of the accused himself, and even after the arrest, why was he not sent to the court? How did he go to the room of the inspector from the prison where he was supposed to be; how did he get the suicide tools; where were the police officers during the incident? It is a matter of extreme concern that recently quite a number of incidents of torture and death in police custody have been reported. All these incidents are in clear violation of the Constitutional right to life, right to legal shelter and justice, right to protection from torture, and also an extreme violation of the UN Convention against Torture of which Bangladesh is a signatory and the High Court Guidelines on arrest and remand. ASK believes that it is essential to establish justice and ensure accountability in order to eradicate the culture of not guaranteeing neutral and acceptable investigation and effective punishment for such crimes.

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