Man dies in police custody in Satkhira

A man arrested in a narcotics case died in prison in the early hours of Sunday under the custody of Detective Branch (DB) of Satkhira police, reports UNB.

The deceased was identified as Bablu Sardar, 56, accused in four cases filed under the Narcotics Act, according to the police. Police claimed he committed suicide while his family members alleged he died of police torture.

Meanwhile, assistant sub-inspector of police Sohel Sheikh and constable Shariful were temporarily suspended on Sunday due to their negligence in duty.

Bablu committed suicide by hanging himself from the grill of lock-up gate using a nylon rope tied to his waist , said Yasin Alam Chowdhury, inspector of Satkhira DB police.

However, Babul's daughter Muni said, there was no such rope tied to his father's waist and it is impossible for someone to commit suicide with a nylon rope.

"The police killed my father and I want justice," she claimed. Inspector Yasin said Babul was arrested on Saturday morning from his home at Basantapur village in Debhata upazila along with 50 bottles of phensedyl.

He was supposed to be produced before court on Sunday morning, he said. Meanwhile Babul's daughter Munni and son Alamgir Hossain claimed an unknown woman entered their house and kept the phensedyl bottles and informed the DB police immediately.

They said police also took Tk 35,000 from their house during the drive. When asked about the incident, Md Mostafizur Rahman, superintendent of Satkhira police, also said Babul committed suicide between 3:00am to 5:00am on Sunday.

Later the body was recovered in presence of magistrate Aktar Hossain and medical officer Jayanat Kumer, he said. The body has been sent for an autopsy, said the superintendent of police.