The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on Friday rejected reports published in various media outlets which maintained that police were visiting the homes of missing persons, pressuring the families to sign blank papers and harassing them.
DMP’s rejoinder said that the media reports contained exaggerated and distorted news, which appeared to be a deliberate attempt to tarnish the image of the police. Providing up-to-date information on reports of 'forced disappearance' from various national and international organisations at different times and keeping contact with victims and complainants to collect information from them for the sake of the information fall under the regular duties of the police and law enforcement agencies.
As part of this duty, the police occasionally contact the victim's family or the complainant. In most cases, the victim's family or the complainant cooperates with the police with information.
Police contacted the family of missing Mahbub Hasan Sujan in the capital’s Shabujbagh police station area on 10 January based on reports on different media outlets. At that time, Mahbub Hasan Sujan’s brother Md Shakil Khan gave different information about the place of missing which was not mentioned in the general diary (GD) lodged earlier in this regard.
The police requested the victim’s family to provide detailed information in writing. However, the victim’s father refused to do so. Later, Md Shakil lied to the media about it and said that the police tried to get a signature on the blank paper from his father, the rejoinder said.
On the other hand, he submitted detailed information about the disappearance of Kazi Farhad's sister and brother-in-law who went missing with Mahbub Hasan Sujan in the same incident to the police in writing.
According to another incident reported in the media, to collect up-to-date information about the missing Tariqul Islam in Pallabi area, police went to his and requested for a copy of the relevant documents. Later, Tariqul Islam’s wife along with her father-in-law came to the police station. As the officer-in-charge (OC) was not present at the police station at the time, they had to wait for some time. But she complained to the media that the police kept her waiting at the police station. But in reality, the OC talked to her as soon as he got back to the police station. Following this, on 13 January, when she informed the police that the necessary documents were ready, they collected them from her house.
The DMP takes any complaint seriously and takes legal action upon completion of investigation, the rejojnder said. Keeping in touch with the complainant or the victim during the investigation is part of the investigation. But deliberately publicising the activities of police as harassment and making one-sided statements while the investigation is ongoing is a kind of non-cooperation in police investigation.
All concerned are requested to refrain from giving exaggerated, distorted and fabricated information in future. At the same time, DMP requests all concerned to cooperate with the police during the investigation.
Correspondent’s response
'Mayer Daak', a forum for missing persons’ relatives, and the human rights organisation ‘Ain o Salish Kendra’ have issued a statement expressing concern and condemnation over the incidents of interrogation, pressurising and harassing the relatives of the missing persons in the name of investigation.
Prothom Alo's report has been published along with that statement, comments of the family members of the victims and statements of the concerned police station officials and the spokesperson of the police headquarters.