The alleged disappearance of homeopathic physician Sheikh Mokhlesur Rahman Jony in 2016 from Satkhira Sadar Police Station had remained a mystery for the last six years.
However, a judicial probe on Mokhlesur's disappearance, the first ever publicly known investigation in any case of alleged disappearances in last 12 years in the country, has been conducted.
Mokhlesur was picked up by police on August 4 in 2016 from the New Market area of Satkhira where he had gone to buy medicines for his father at 9:00pm.
Sheikh Abdur Rashed the father of the disappeared victim again filed a case against three police personnel including former officer-in-charge of Satkhira Sadar Police Station Md Emdadul Haque Sheikh and Sub-Inspector Himel Hossain, and Emdadul's successor OC Firoz Hossain Mollah with Satkhira Sadar Judicial Magistrate Court last year as per the direction of HC.
The HC bench of Justice Quazi Reza-ul Hoque and Justice Mohammad Ullah, ordered the petitioner to file a case against the police officials on 2019. The HC bench had earlier
ordered the PBI to conduct an inquiry into the incident of missing.
Mokhlesur's wife Jasmin Nahar filed a writ petition in March 2017, with the HC, claiming that her husband went missing from the police custody, as he was detained by the local police on August 4 in 2016.
She also filed a Habeas Corpus Writ before the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. In May 2017, a Division Bench heard the writ and ordered a judicial probe into the matter. Upon the High Court's order the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Satkhira district assigned Habibullah Mahmud, a Senior Judicial Magistrate, to probe into the matter.
Satkhira Judicial Magistrate during investigation found the involvement of Superintendent of Police Md Altaf Hossain of Satkhira, former Satkhira Sadar Police Station officer-in-charge Emdadul Huq Sheikh, former Sub-Inspector Himel Hossain with the arrest and disappearance of homeopathic physician Sheikh Mokhlesur Rahman from Satkhira on August 4 in 2016.
The involvement of higher police officials with the incident was also found during the investigation. According to the probe report OC Emdad and Sub-Inspector Himel were directly involved with the detention and disappearance of doctor Mokhlesur.
The probe reported, submitted to the High Court Division on July 4 in 2017 by Senior Judicial Magistrate Habibullah Mahmud, said the whereabouts of physician Mokhlesur could be ascertained from the call lists of the accused police officers.
The then police personnel of Satkhira Sadar Police Station have showed serious incompetence and negligence in discharging their duties by not recording any case or a general diary (GD) in connection with the incident of missing of Mokhlesur Rahman Jony of Satkhira, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) said in a probe report.
The report further said that the image of police has seriously been damaged due to their inefficiency and negligence. The PBI in the report recommended departmental action against the police personnel for their negligence and incompetence. The PBI probe report was submitted to the High Court through the Attorney General's office on January 21 in 2018 in line with its earlier order.
The victim's father Sheikh Abdur Rashed who has been fighting a long battle for justice, claimed the family had visited Mokhlesur in the lockup at Satkhira Sadar Police Station with homemade food for three consecutive days. But on the fourth day they did not find him there, while police allegedly told them that he had been sent to Dhaka.
The case of Sheikh Mokhlesur Rahman Jony, a homeopathic doctor of Satkhira district town reflects the struggles of the families of the disappeared in Bangladesh. The Satkhira Sadar police, led by Sub Inspector Himel Hossain, picked up Mokhlesur at around 9:00pm on August 4 in 2016 from the New Market of Satkhira district town. The police raided Mokhlesur's house after that midnight without any Search Warrant. His wife Jesmine Nahar and father Sheikh Abdur Rashid found Mokhlesur detained in the police cell of the Satkhira Sadar Police Station on the following day, August 5. The police arbitrarily detained him without producing him before a Magistrate, defying the laws of the land. The police even did not make any formal record about the arrest and detention of Mokhlesur despite having legal obligations to do so. From August 5 to 7 the family served food to Mokhlesur by bribing the police, who do not provide food to a detainee. On August 8, the family found Mokhlesur missing in the police cell. The police did not produce him before any Court or sent him to the prison.
The police officers refused to disclose the whereabouts of Mokhlesur when the family enquired about him. Instead of telling the whereabouts, the police officers continuously insisted the family of Mokhlesur not to reveal any information to the media regarding his arbitrary detention and disappearance. The police also refused to register any complaint or General Diary (GD) Entry regarding the arrest, detention and subsequent disappearance of him. The victim's wife repeatedly attempted to register a GD Entry for months and got refused by the police officers. When all the efforts went in vain, in March 2017, Jesmine Nahar held a press conference and exposed the matter in public.
Jasmin, meanwhile, got married again last year. She now has another daughter with her second husband. Mokhlesur's 66-year-old father, who partially lost his ability to walk following an injury sustained in a road accident, works as a receptionist at a local hotel. Mokhlesur's brother had gone to Qatar, but he was sold to a broker and spent an inhuman life there. Sheikh Abdur Rashed, father of disappeared victim, told The Daily Observer, "We just want punishment of those involved with the killing of my son."
