Questions over 85 sentenced without drug tests

 
The sentencing of 85 people detained during a police raid at a rented residence belonging to Additional Deputy Inspector General Abdullah Al Zahir in Dhaka has raised questions over the evidence used to convict them, allegations of coercion and the handling of CCTV footage, as no medical tests were conducted to establish whether the detainees had consumed drugs.

The raid took place shortly after midnight on October 20 at Golden Sunrise, a three-storey building in the Police Officers’ Housing Society-1 in Bhatara. Of those detained, 26 women were sentenced to 15 days in prison and fined Tk 500 each, while the men received one-month jail terms and fines of Tk 1,000 each.

An instrumental musician hired to perform at the gathering was among those convicted. His father, a prominent member of a well-known musical band, told The Daily Observer on condition of anonymity that his son had attended the event professionally.

A Dhaka Special Metropolitan Magistrate reportedly confirmed that no medical tests were conducted before the sentences were imposed. Although the accused pleaded guilty, relatives of several convicts disputed this, alleging that their signatures had been obtained on documents under the pretext of securing their release, according to sources.

The sentences were imposed under Section 36(5) of the Narcotics Control Act, 2018, which addresses drug consumption accompanied by public disorder or other specified conduct.

The operation, led by Detective Branch Deputy Commissioner Elias Kabir, involved 40 to 50 officers. Sources said four of the building’s six CCTV cameras were dismantled, while the remaining two were disconnected and their memory cards removed. The fate of the recordings remains unclear.

Police listed four liquor bottles, a yaba tablet, drug-consumption paraphernalia and a small quantity of cannabis among the seized items. However, questions have arisen over why DJ equipment was absent from the seizure list despite allegations that parties were regularly held at the residence.