Carry out credible investigation of incidents of custodial death

Custodial death of retired deputy director of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) SM Shahidullah in Chattogram is shocking. The incident took place at around 12 at night on Tuesday in Chandgaon police station.

It is totally unacceptable that a 67-year old person was arrested and he died within hours of being taken to the police station. SM Shahidullah’s son Nafiz Shahid told Prothom Alo that two assistant sub inspectors (ASI) of Chandgaon police station picked up his father from his house and took him to the police station at around 11:30pm on Tuesday.  They later were told that Shahidullah had been arrested as an arrest warrant was in place against him in a case over assault.  

Why should someone be arrested if he is accused in an incident of fighting. Was any arrest warrant really in place before the ASIs picked up Shahidullah? If not, how did police arrest him?

The family alleged that police did not allow sending medicine to Shahidullah who was a heart patient. Chandgaon police station’s officer in charge Shairul Islam, however, denied the allegation and said, “The retired ACC official was brought to my room after arrest as he is an aged person. Suddenly he fell ill. The members of his family later served him medicine. As his condition deteriorated, police and members of his family immediately took him to a private hospital where physicians pronounced him dead.”

Police should not be unaware of what conduct should be shown to a heart disease patient. It is not only inhuman but also illegal if the police really prevented or delayed serving him medicine. Police withdrew two ASIs and formed a probe committee in the incident.

Another youth named Rahmat Ullah, who was allegedly picked up by people identifying themselves as Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) members, has been missing for a long time. According to a report of Prothom Alo’s Savar correspondent Shamsuzzaman, people identifying them as RAB picked up Rahmat from his house in Dhamrai on 29 August. His relatives could not know the whereabouts although 36 days have passed. Rahmat Ullah’s mother went to RAB headquarters where she was asked to bring the copy of GD (General Diary) but the relevant police station did not accept her GD.

Company commander of Manikganj (RAB-4) CPC-3 lieutenant commander Mohammad Arif Hossain told Prothom Alo that no RAB team had gone to that house. Who then picked him up?

Although such incidents are rampant in the country, only a handful of people get remedy. Those who come back by sheer luck also remain tight lipped. A culture of fear works behind this silence. Incidents of extrajudicial killing have somewhat decreased after the United States slapped sanctions on seven RAB officials two years ago, but the incidents of enforced disappearance  and custodial death have not decreased much. Within three months of the death of Sultana Jasmine in RAB custody, Alal Uddin from Tongi died while under custody of Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

The court has specific guidelines over treatment and interrogation of accused under custody. Police in most cases do not adhere to the guidelines. We don’t want to see another single incident of custodial death. Proper and credible probe should be carried out over the death of Shahidullah and other deaths in RAB custody. Any vestige of rule of law would not remain if those who are supposed to enforce the law continue to violate it in such a way.