Shibir leader Jisan ‘refuses to open eyes’ upon learning rape charges

Islami Chhatra Shibir central leader Jisan Mia is currently under police protection at Cumilla Medical College Hospital.

He has been shown arrested in a case filed for allegedly raping a widow and causing her to have an abortion in Cumilla’s Daudkandi.

According to hospital authorities and police, medical examinations and doctors’ observations indicate that Jisan is physically fit. However, he is reportedly staying in the hospital under police custody by claiming illness. As a result, it has not been possible to produce him before the court.

Police officials said Jisan had staged a kidnapping drama to avoid marrying the victim. Police rescued him and took him to Cumilla Medical College Hospital, where he was arrested in the case filed by the woman.

Initially, Jisan spoke normally with the police upon arriving at the hospital. However, he has refused to open his eyes since hearing that he has been shown arrested in the rape case.

Meanwhile, Cumilla Medical College Hospital authorities have formed a four-member medical board to assess the physical condition of Chhatra Shibir leader Jisan Mia.

Mohammad Shahjahan, the hospital's acting director, confirmed the matter to Prothom Alo on Sunday (14 June) afternoon.

He stated that the head of the hospital's Medicine Department has been made the chief of the medical board. The remaining three doctors are from the hospital's Anesthesia, Neuromedicine, and Psychiatry departments.

He said that tomorrow, on Monday (15 June) at 11 am, the four-member medical board will examine Jisan Mia’s condition and submit their opinion.

If he is found to be physically fit but is pretending to be ill, he will be discharged from the hospital. If he is found to be ill, he will be given necessary treatment. So far, all medical tests conducted have shown no health complications. He also added that the victim’s medical examination has been completed.

Jisan’s family claimed that he was found in an ‘unconscious’ state at Laksam Railway Junction around 9:45 pm on Friday (12 June), a day after he went ‘missing’ from Cumilla’s Daudkandi. He was rushed to Cumilla Medical College Hospital for treatment that same night.

However, police dismissed the family's kidnapping claim, asserting that Jisan was never abducted and had been in hiding of his own accord. Jisan serves as the Central Assistant International Affairs Secretary of Islamic Chhatra Shibir and is a former president of the organisation’s Cumilla District West unit.

Following news of Jisan being ‘found,’ a woman filed a case at the Daudkandi Model Police Station on Friday night. The case, filed under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, names four individuals as accused. The complaint alleges that the woman was raped multiple times and subjected to a forced abortion.

Aside from Jisan, the three other accused in the case, Sekandar Ali (24), Golam Rabbi (26) and Sajib Hasan (21) have already been sent to jail following a court order on Saturday afternoon.

All three are residents of Daudkandi and are known to be close associates of the Shibir leader.

However, although his arrest has been formally recorded, Jisan is yet to be produced before the court as he continues to claim he is unwell.

Daudkandi Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md A Bari confirmed this development.

The sudden nature of Jisan’s ‘illness’ has drawn heavy skepticism from investigators. Shamsul Alam Shah, OC of the District Detective Branch (DB), told Prothom Alo, “When Jisan was brought to the hospital from Laksam on Friday night, he was speaking normally with us. But the moment he learned a case had been filed and he was under arrest, he began portraying himself as sick. It has reached a point where he simply refuses to open his eyes.”

According to police sources, on 11 June, Zisan’s cousin Russell Ahmed filed a general diary (GD) at Daudkandi Model Police Station, reporting him missing.

Following the GD, multiple police teams began efforts to trace him. During the investigation, police learned that a few months earlier, Jisan had developed a romantic relationship with a 25-year-old widowed woman after connecting through Facebook.

As the relationship progressed, the woman became pregnant, after which Jisan allegedly pressured her to terminate the pregnancy, which was eventually carried out through medication.

Later, when the woman pressured him to marry her, Jisan reportedly agreed to the marriage on 12 June. However, to avoid the marriage, he allegedly staged his disappearance on the night of 11 June.

He was eventually rescued from the Laksam area on Friday night during the investigation into his disappearance.