ICT sends ex-IGP, 2 others to jail in Kalyanpur Jahajbari raid case

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) today (24 March) showed former inspector general of police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Haque, former commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Asaduzzaman Miah, and then assistant commissioner (AC) of DMP's Mirpur Zone Jasim Uddin Mollah arrested in a case filed over an alleged staged raid by law enforcement, in which nine people were shot dead. 

The three-member tribunal, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, passed the order and sent them to jail after granting a prosecution plea.

The former police officials were produced before the tribunal during the hearing.

Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam and prosecutors Abdus Subhan Tarafder, BM Sultan Mahmud, Gazi MH Tamim, Shahidul Islam, Faruk Ahammed, and Moinul Karim were present in the courtroom during the hearing.

Meanwhile, the tribunal has directed the submission of an investigation report against former additional deputy commissioner (ADC) of Darussalam zone MM Mainul Islam and other accused in the July-August massacre in Mirpur by 18 June. 

Additionally, the tribunal has ordered the submission of a report by April 28 against former sub-inspector (SI) Chanchal Chandra, former assistant commissioner (AC) Rajan Kumar Saha, and other accused in connection with the shooting of a student hanging from a building cornice in Rampura during the anti-discrimination movement.

Different units of the DMP and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) conducted the raid on a house known as Jahajbari — named for its ship-like design — on 26 July 2016. It was alleged that the entire operation was staged, and the individuals killed, who were labeled as militants, had no ties to militancy. Instead, they had allegedly been in police custody for a long period and were executed at close range.

Then IGP AKM Shahidul Hauque later visited the scene and stated that the deceased were members of the banned militant outfit Neo-Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB).