The lawsuit that was filed showing a living husband to be dead in Ashulia was lodged as she was lured with a job and also threatened, claimed plaintiff Kulsum Begum.
Kulsum told the police this at Ashulia police station on Friday morning.
Earlier on Thursday night, the police detained Kulsum and two others from Cox’s Bazar in connection with the case and brought them to the police station.
Kulsum Begum lodged the suit against 130 people, including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, at a Dhaka court stating that her husband, Al Amin, was shot to death by goons of the then ruling Awami League on 5 August, the day the government was toppled.
Three months after the incident of alleged killing, the “deceased” on 13 November appeared at Dakkhin Surma police station in Sylhet and claimed that the case was filed with an “ulterior motive”, showing him “dead”. Later, the police brought him to Savar.
On the other hand, plaintiff Kulsum was not appearing before the court after filing the case. The police detained her as the court issued an arrest warrant against her.
Speaking about this, Ashulia police station officer-in-charge Abu Bakar Siddique told Prothom Alo that they have detained three people, including the plaintiff of the case, from Cox’s Bazar. The plaintiff has been sent to the court for a confessional statement while the two others are being interrogated. Legal actions against all three are underway.
Kulsum, 21, who is under police custody, is from Sinjuri village in Gheor area of Manikganj. The two others are Ruhul Amin, 64, from Gheor area of Manikganj and Shafiuddin, 40, from Tepra area in Shibalay of the district.
Kulsum claimed she lodged the lawsuit as she was entrapped by Ruhul Amin and Shafiuddin.
Kulsum Begum said she used to live with her husband Al-Amin in Dakkhin Surma of Sylhet. She came to Manikganj from Sylhet on 28 August in search of jobs. Meanwhile, she met Shafiuddin on the bus. Shafiuddin gave her a mobile phone number when she told him inside the bus that she needed a job. A few days later, Shafiuddin informed her that she has got a job and asked for her birth registration certificate.
Kulsum claimed that a few days later, Shafiuddin and Ruhul Amin took her to Dhaka and made her plaintiff in a case filed in connection with the death of a person on 5 August. She was also asked to tell everyone that the deceased person was her husband. But when she declined to do that, she was threatened.
Coming allegedly under pressure from the two, she gave a confessional statement before the court stating that the deceased was her husband. Since then she was taken to Cox’s Bazar and locked up there.
Meanwhile, her husband Al-Amin contacted the police on his own. Kulsum’s sister Fatema brought her home from Cox’s Bazar, assuring that nobody would be informed about anything. But Shafiuddin and Ruhul Amin took her back to Cox’s Bazar from there. Later, the police rescued her from there and brought them to Dhaka.
Kulsum Begum told Prothom Alo, “I was made plaintiff, lured with a job and threatened. I don’t know any of the accused. I was taken to Cox’s Bazar to be killed. They also wanted to file a case staging a rape incident. I don’t even know who has died.”
Denying the claims of Kulsum, Ruhul Amin, who is currently under police custody, said, “Kulsum identified a person as her husband and rented my house and would work at a hotel. That man (who was identified as Al-Amin) passed away on 5 August. He also was the husband of Kulsum. I heard that that person is also Kulsum’s husband. They have been harassing people by filing cases. I am not involved with anything.”
Shafiuddin, however, acknowledged that he became acquainted with Kulsum inside the bus and provided her with a mobile phone number there for the sake of a job. “I introduced her to Ruhul Amin. But I know nothing about the lawsuit,” he added.
Meanwhile, a person named Liakat Dewan came to the police station hearing that Kulsum had been taken under police custody.
He identified himself as accused no. 57 in this case. He further claimed that money was taken from several accused assuring that their names will be dropped.
“I’m accused no. 57 in this case. I learned that Ruhul is involved with this incident. Later, Ruhul’s son identified himself as a coordinator and sought Tk 200,000 from each of the accused. Eleven of us collected Tk 1.7 million and gave it to him. He also took around Tk 1.2-1.3 million from others. We shall take legal action in this regard,” he added.
Kulsum’s case statement said that her husband Al Amin Mia, 34, took part in the demonstrations along with Students Against Discrimination in the morning of 5 August. He was in the victory procession that was brought out in the Bipail area of Ashulia around 4:00 pm after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government. But Awami League goons fired indiscriminately on the procession that left Al Amin Mia wounded. He succumbed to his injuries.
The accused include ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, AL general secretary Obaidul Quader, Manikganj district AL general secretary Abdus Salam, former health minister Zahid Maleque, former state minister for relief and disaster management Enamur Rahman and 124 others.
However, around two weeks after the filing of the case, Al Amin came to know about the lawsuit and heard that her wife was taking money from various people to exclude their names from the case. Al Amin was in Juri of Moulvibazar at that time.
He contacted Juri police station on 13 November. The police members of that station advised him to contact the police of his own area.