At least five people died in police custody across the country including one in Sylhet, three in Dhaka and one in Bagerhat after delivering the country's first-ever judgement under the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act, 2013.
Preventing death in custody, the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act-2013 was enacted on October 27 in 2013. In January 2014, the first case was filed under the law over the death of one Ishtiaque Ahmed Jony in the custody of Pallabi Police station. After seven years, the court delivered its judgement in the case on September 9.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge KM Emrul Kayesh sentenced three police officials including Sub-Inspector Zahidur Rahman to life imprisonment.
The life-term convicts are Mirpur Pallabi Police Station's sub-inspector (SI) Zahidur Rahman, and assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs) Rashedul Hassan and Md Kamruzzaman Minto, and the seven-year-jail convicts include police informants Sumon and Russel.
Law experts and Human Right defenders said it happened that many innocent people are becoming victims of death in custody after torture at the hands of some members of law enforcement agencies. Many other incidents remain unpublished in the country.
The government withdraw or suspend the police officers when the incidents are published in the media. It will not help to reduce the death in custody. The state should ensure speedy trials of those cases and ensure punishment for the criminals, they added.
Meanwhile, 12 incidents of death in police custody took place across the country from January to September 2020, according to a report of Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK).
Of them, two women died in Gazipur and Mohammedpur in the capital in custody after being arrested in February this year.
In 2019, 16 people died in police custody.
The incidents happened due to torture, sickness and under treatment.
The ASK prepared the report based on the news published in different leading newspapers.
On October 13, an auto-rickshaw driver died in police custody in Nawabganj of Dhaka district, hours after he was arrested in a murder case.
The deceased was identified as Mamun Hossain, 31, a resident of Sreenagar in Munshiganj.
The incident took place two days after a youth was allegedly tortured to death in police custody in Sylhet.
Rayhan Ahmed, 34, died in police custody following torture on October 11, his family alleged.
Police denied the allegation and said Rayhan had been caught by locals while mugging and was lynched.
However, the victim's mother said Rayhan had called her from an unknown number at 4:23 am and said that police had taken him to Bandarbazar police outpost and were demanding Tk 10,000 for his release.
The death of Raihan was probably caused by excessive torture, according to the chief of the forensic department of Osmani Medical College Hospital.
After the incident, Akbar Bhuiyan, the Bandarbazar police outpost sub-inspector (SI) who was suspended following the death of Rayhan, has reportedly gone missing.
The police headquarters transferred the case to the Police Bauru of Investigation (PBI) for probing the death of Rayhan.
A writ was filed in the High Court (HC) seeking an independent and impartial probe into the death of Rayhan.
Besides, on September 29, a youth died at Paltan Model Police Station in the capital, hours after his detention from Gulistan area.
The deceased was identified as Masud Rana, 30.
Masud's family members alleged that he was picked up from Kanchpur under Sonargaon police station in Narayanganj district on the day. Then he was kept in the custody of Paltan Police Station. They claimed that the youth was tortured to death.
Abdul Mannan, father in-law of the youth, said police detained Masud Rana from in front of Sinha Textile Mill in Kanchpur area.
Later, I came to know he was taken to Paltan Police Station, he said.
On September 28, an accused in a murder case died reportedly in the custody of Bagerhat Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) on Monday.
The deceased was identified as Raja Fakir, 20, son of Babu Fakir, a resident of Khanjahan Ali Dighir Par area of Sadar Upazila.
KM Humayun Kabir, the Civil Surgeon of Bagerhat, said that PBI members brought Raja to the hospital around 1:20 pm saying that he fell sick.
Later, doctors pronounced him dead.
Before announcing the nationwide shutdown, on March 26, a man had died under mysterious circumstances in police custody in Barguna.
The deceased Shanu Hawlader was killed in police brutality for failing to give OC Abul Bashar and OC Monoranjan Mistri a sum of Tk 3 lakh bribe money, say family members.
The incident took place in Amtali Police Station on the day.
A three-member probe committee was formed to investigate the mysterious death inside the Amtali Police Station, said Barguna Additional Superintendent of Police (Administration and Crime) Tofael Ahmed.
Human Rights defender and president of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh Advocate Manzill Murshid, told the Daily Observer that custodial deaths are increasing in the country due to lack of enforcement of the law. The government must realise that custodial torture and death are a threat to justice.
'The use of law enforcement agencies for political purpose must stop. A clear instruction needs to be given to police to stop torture while a person remains in their custody,' he said
Besides, the law enforcement agencies must comply with the rules and follow the court directives in arresting suspects, said the HRPB president.
Advocate J R Khan Robin, a Supreme Court lawyer, who filed several public interest litigations also said most of the incidents of custodial torture go unreported because law enforcers are involved in the incidents. As a result, very few cases have been lodged under the act.
The government should bring the person under the law to ensure the rule of law among the law enforcers, he said.
