Bar assistant association’s leader dies in Bogura DB custody, says family

A leader of a bar assistant association died allegedly in the custody of the Detective Branch of Bogura police on Tuesday night, triggering anger among lawyers.    

The victim, Habibur Rahman Habib, 35, is the son of Abdul Kuddus Bablu of Jhora village under Bogura's Shahjahanpur and joint general secretary of the association.

His family and colleagues alleged that he was tortured to death, and he was physically sound.

They alleged that Habib was picked up by some DB members from in front of a Bogura court around 5 pm on Tuesday when he came out of the court.

The victim's maternal uncle advocate Manjurul Huq, senior member of Bogura District Bar Association, said that hearing this news he rushed to the office of Superintendent of Police, but he was not allowed to enter.

"Later, around 9pm, I came to know that Habib died and his body was kept at Mohammad Ali Hospital," he said.   

Dr Atikujjaman, a physician of Mohammad Ali Hospital's emergency Department, said some DB personnel brought Habib unconscious at 7pm and then was admitted to the medicine ward of the hospital.

Dr Shafik Amin Kajal, resident doctor of the hospital, said police informed them that Habib felt pain in his chest when he was in the DB office.

The patient breathed his last around 9pm while undergoing treatment, he said, adding that the Habib remained unconscious for two hours. There were injury marks in his body.  

Refusing the allegation of torturing Habib, Mostafiz Hasan, inspector at Bogura DB police, said that he was the prime accused in a 10-year-old boy murder case lodged around 10 years back in Shahjahanpur upazila.

The boy's stepmother Khuki Begum was one of the witnesses of the case and she was murdered on last 2 August, a few days before the scheduled date of giving testimony, he said. Her body without a leg was recovered from Jhora village.

Around one month after the murder, the missing leg was recovered from a septic tank of one Morowara Begum, a neighbour of the victim, the DB official said.

The neighbour was also detained for interrogation and she admitted that Habib and others killed Khuki.

On the basis of the statement, Habib was arrested from the court area and brought him before Monowara Begum. The official added that Habib complained of his chest pain at that time.

He was rushed to Mohammad Ali Hospital where he died around 9pm while undergoing treatment, the inspector said. The body was sent to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Bogura's SP Sudipto Kumar Chakraborty said Habib was kept in the DB office for 45 minutes and taken to the hospital when he fell sick.

He was not tortured in the DB custody, but an investigation would be opened as the allegation of torture surfaced, the SP said.