Court orders action against Kaliakair SI for concealing Surovi's age in remand plea

A Gazipur court has ordered legal action against Kaliakair Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI) Omar Faruq, the investigating officer of a case for concealing the actual age of "July warrior" Tahrima Jannat Surovi while seeking her remand.

On Thursday (8 January), Judge Fazlul Mahadi of Gazipur Senior Judicial Magistrate Court-2 issued the order and directed the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Gazipur to investigate the matter and take action.

The development was confirmed last night (9 January) by Surovi's lawyer and General Secretary of the Gazipur Bar Association, Mostafizur Rahman Kamal.

He said the investigating officer (IO) was aware that Surovi is 17 years old and therefore a minor, but still hid this information in the remand application.

Surovi was arrested from her Tongi residence late on 25 December. Her bail application was rejected on 28 December.

On 5 January, police sought a five-day remand for her, and the court granted a two-day remand.

However, after her birth certificate and information regarding her age appeared on social media and in the mass media, questions were raised about the accuracy of the age mentioned in the case documents.

Later that afternoon, Surovi's lawyer filed a revision petition in the Sessions Judge Court.

The Additional District and Sessions Judge Court cancelled the remand order and granted her four weeks of interim bail. The court also issued a show-cause notice to the investigating officer.

This latest directive follows the court's rejection of the IO's show-cause reply, which was deemed unsatisfactory.

Information obtained from relevant sources shows that two cases—one in favour of and one against Surovi—were filed at Kaliakair Police Station on 26 November.

One case (No. 38) was filed by Naimur Rahman Durjoy, naming four accused, including Surovi. The other case (No. 40) was filed by Surovi's mother, Mst Shamitul Akter, naming Durjoy as the sole accused.

Surovi's lawyer stated that in the case filed under Section 10 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, her mother clearly mentioned Surovi's age as 17.

However, in the case filed by Durjoy, her age was recorded as 21. 

Sub-Inspector Omar Faruq of Kaliakair Police Station was appointed as the investigating officer for both cases, indicating he was already aware of the conflicting age entries.

He further alleged that despite both cases being filed on the same date, police arrested Surovi nearly a month later in the case filed by Durjoy, even though she is a minor.

No action was taken regarding the case lodged by her mother.

Kamal said Surovi was arrested during a late-night raid, produced before the court, and sent to jail without accurate age information being presented. Her age was also recorded as 21 in the remand application, which the defence believes was intentional.

He said the court issued the show-cause notice to the IO based on these allegations.

Regarding the matter, Gazipur SP Md Sharif Uddin stated, "I have learned about the court's directive through the court inspector. Swift action will be taken once a copy of the order is received."

He added that the district police are treating the matter seriously and that a show-cause notice has already been issued to the relevant investigating officer.