Mysterious death in Chokoria police custody: 8 named in FIR, including OC and headteacher

Five days after the mysterious death of school office assistant Durjoy Chowdhury in police custody in Chokoria, his father, Komol Chowdhury, filed an FIR at Chokoria police station on Tuesday evening.

The FIR names eight individuals as accused, including former Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shafiqul Islam, ASI Hanif Mia, two constables, the school's headteacher Rabeya Khanam, two assistant teachers, and the office assistant. However, the FIR has not yet been officially registered as a case at the police station.

In the FIR, Komol Chowdhury alleged that since Durjoy joined the school, the headteacher, two assistant teachers, and the office assistant conspired to harass him. Durjoy had evidence of various irregularities and corruption stored on his laptop, and the accused allegedly plotted his death to suppress this evidence. As part of this, Durjoy was taken to the police station on 21 August at 10pm over allegations of embezzlement.

He further claimed that OC Shafiqul Islam kept Durjoy in custody based on verbal complaints. According to the FIR, the headteacher, along with the OC, ASI, and constables, allegedly colluded to falsely accuse him, and as part of this scheme, Durjoy was strangled to death in custody, which was later framed as a suicide case. 

Advocate Pintu Barua, lawyer at Cox's Bazar District Judge Court and president of the Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council, called for a proper and impartial judicial investigation, stating:

"A death in police custody is unacceptable. It is a clear violation of human rights. That is why we, along with the complainant Komol Chowdhury, filed this FIR at Chokoria police station to seek justice."

He added, "If the FIR is not officially registered as a case at the police station by today, we will take the matter to court."

Chokoria Circle's Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Abhijit Das said, "Since an unnatural death case has been filed at the police station, the investigation is ongoing. We will inform higher authorities and take the next steps accordingly."

On 21 August, the acting headteacher of Chokoria Government High School, Rabeya Khanam, filed a complaint at Chokoria police station, accusing Durjoy Chowdhury of embezzling Tk283,000 in cash and cheque fraud. 

Based on this complaint, OC Shafiqul Islam registered a general diary (GD) and detained Durjoy in custody. Early the next morning, police recovered his body hanging around 4am. 

An inquest report was prepared in the presence of Chokoria's acting Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Assistant Commissioner (Land) Rupayan Deb.

Following the incident, the ASP withdrew the ASI and two constables, and the former OC was also withdrawn. Meanwhile, headteacher Rabeya Khanam was placed on administrative duty and transferred to the Dhaka Education Directorate. 

Both the police and the Secondary Education Directorate have formed separate investigation committees, which have already begun their inquiries.