Torture of Kurigram journo Ariful: Charge sheet filed against former DC Sultana, 3 others

The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) has submitted a charge sheet against former Kurigram deputy commissioner (DC) Sultana Pervin and three former officials in a case filed over the 2020 abduction and torture of journalist Md Ariful Islam Rigan under the guise of a mobile court operation in Kurigram.

Case investigation officer and PBI Rangpur Inspector Raihanul Raj Dulal submitted the charge sheet to the Kurigram Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court today (30 July).

Confirming the matter, court police Inspector Nazrul Islam Jewel said, "We've received the charge sheet. It will be presented to the court on the next hearing date."

Ariful is the Kurigram correspondent for Bangla Tribune. The charges, levelled against the four accused of abducting and torturing him, were filed under nine sections of the Penal Code.

The other three accused in the charge sheet include current Senior Executive Secretaries Nazim Uddin, Rintu Bikash Chakma and SM Rahat-ul Islam. 

Speaking to the media, Ariful said, "The charge sheet has finally been submitted after more than five years. All the accused are influential. Despite the departmental inquiry proving their guilt, they continued to hold their jobs and tried to influence the investigation. Still, I thank the PBI for submitting the charge sheet. I hope to get justice in court."

Ishrat Hasan, Supreme Court lawyer and the petitioner on behalf of Ariful, stated, "The departmental investigation confirmed the allegations, marking them as administratively guilty. Yet, the absence of exemplary punishment raises serious questions about the justice system and highlights misuse of power within the administration. As a lawyer, I expect proper punishment for the real offenders."

On the night of 13 March 2020, Ariful was forcibly taken from his home in Kurigram by officials claiming to be conducting a mobile court allegedly for publishing a news about naming a pond district administration after former Kurigram Deputy Commissioner Sultana Pervin.

He was reportedly threatened with death in a staged "crossfire" and taken to a remote area near the Dharla Bridge, then brought to the DC's office, where he was allegedly stripped of clothes and subjected to brutal physical and mental abuse by Nazim, then assistant commissioners Rahat and Rintu, and other officials.

Without conducting a search of his home, officials accused Ariful of possessing alcohol and cannabis and sentenced him to jail under mobile court procedures. The incident sparked nationwide outrage.

Following media coverage and public backlash, the Cabinet Division sent an additional divisional commissioner to investigate. Based on that report, Sultana and the other three officials were withdrawn from their posts and reassigned to the Ministry of Public Administration.

On 15 March, Ariful was granted bail without any formal petition from his family. After his release, while still hospitalised, he filed the case against the officials.

On the High Court's instruction, Kurigram Sadar police formally registered the case on 31 March 2020. The same order also suspended the sentence handed down by the mobile court.

According to the case statement, Sultana sanctioned the illegal mobile court drive against Ariful in order to silence him and stop him from writing reports on the irregularities of Kurigram district administration.