Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a sixty-five year-old woman named Mrs. Nayan Banu was beaten to death by three police men from the Savar Police Station at the victim’s house in Dhaka District on 2 July 2006. She was allegedly killed because she asked for the identity of a plain-clothed police team that came to her house to look for her son. More seriously, the police refused to record this murder case and have not taken any serious action to arrest the perpetrators. Even though the authorities have suspended all three perpetrators from service, none of them have yet been arrested.
On 16 June 2006, Mr. Montu Mian of Nikrail village lodged a kidnapping case with the Savar Police Station against seven persons regarding the elopement of his teenaged daughter Disari Akter Tumpa with her boyfriend Jewel two days before (June 14). Jewel and his father Mr. Badsha Mian were among the accused of the kidnap case filed by Mr. Mian.
At around 8:30pm on July 2, the Sub Inspector (SI) Mokhlesur Rahman, who was the investigation officer of the kidnapping case, went to Badsha’s house with two police constables to arrest him. Badsha was not home at that time. The three were armed and in civilian clothes. Badsha’s sixty-five year-old mother Mrs. Nayan Banu did not allow the police to come into the house and asked for identification because she suspected that they were criminals. The police then became furious and began to brutally beat her to death. The SI Mokhlesur kicked Mrs. Nayan on her abdomen. When she fell on the ground, the policemen proceeded to beat her with boots and rifles. As a result, Mrs. Nayan died at the scene. Several women from neighbouring houses came to rescue Mrs. Nayan and were also brutally beaten by the police, including Mrs. Momtaj Begum who was considerably injured.
Learning of the death of Mrs. Nayan, outraged villagers chased the policemen, who then fled by taxi. The people of the adjacent areas started a demonstration protesting the victim’s death the same night. Then, the Upazilla Nirbahi Officer (UNO), Mr. Salahuddin Nagri, and the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of the Savar Circle, Mr. Saidur Rahman, visited the place of the incident late at night and assured the villagers that the alleged perpetrators would be punished exemplarily.
A First Class Magistrate of the Dhaka Judge’s Court, Mrs. Suraya Parvin Shelly, prepared a inquest report on the victim’s body. The inquest report mentioned that the signs of injuries were found on the head, abdomen and on the back of the dead body. The doctors of the Forensic Medicine department of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) have conducted the post mortem of which the report has not yet been revealed. The Second Officer of the Saver police station, SI Mr. Mortuza Kabir, lodged an ‘Unnatural Death’ (UD) case (Case No.: 24/2006) regarding this incident on July 3.
The victim’s son, Mr. Badsha Mian alleges that the Savar police refused to record his complaint regarding the murder of his mother on July 4. They will go to court and seek justice regarding the incidence. The Savar police recorded the compliant as a General Diary (GD), number 192, instead of a First Information Report (FIR).
The Officer-in-Charge (OC), Mr. Akhtaruzzaman, explains that the UD case will be turned into a murder case if the post-mortem report asserts the death as a homicide. The key perpetrator, SI Mr. Mokhlesur Rahman, and the two constables were suspended from their duties by the authorities. However, none of the three perpetrators have yet been arrested. The victim’s family and the villagers demanded an arrest and trial of the alleged perpetrators saying that ‘suspension is nothing but an eyewash’.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the relevant Bangladesh authorities listed below and urge them to ensure a fair and impartial investigation into this case. The alleged perpetrators must be held accountable for their actions. Please also urge the Government of Bangladesh to pay appropriate compensation to the family of the victim. The security of the victim’s family must be ensured.
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SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
BANGLADESH: An elderly woman beaten to death by the Savar police in Dhaka
Name of victim:
1. Mrs. Nayan Banu, aged 65, resided in Bagmibari village, under the Savar Police Station in Dhaka District, Bangladesh (killed)
2. Mrs. Mamtaj Begum (55), resides in Bagmibari village (injured)
Names of the alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Mokhlesur Rahman, the Sub Inspector of Police attached to the Savar Police Station in Dhaka district
2. Mr. Alim, the police constable attached to the Savar Police Station
3. Mr. Monnaf, the police constable attached to the Savar Police Station
Place of incident: The victim’s house in Bagmibari village
Date of incident: 2 July 2006, at around 8:30pm
I am writing to express my deep concern regarding a killing of an elderly woman who was beaten to death by the Savar police on 2 July 2006. The incident took place at the victim’s house in Akrain village under Savar Police Station in Dhaka District, Bangladesh. I am also shocked to know that the victim was killed only because she attempted to ask identification of the police who armed and were in civilian clothes.
Detailed information of case is as follows.
On 16 June 2006, Mr. Montu Mian of Nikrail village lodged a kidnapping case with the Savar Police Station against seven persons regarding the elopement of his teenaged daughter Disari Akter Tumpa with her boyfriend Jewel two days before (June 14). Jewel and his father Mr. Badsha Mian were among the accused of the kidnap case filed by Mr. Mian. On July 2, at around 8:30 pm, a three policemen including Sub Inspector (SI), Mr. Mokhlesur Rahman, who was the investigation officer of the kidnapping case, came to Badsha’s house to arrest him. Badsha’s 65 year-old mother, Mrs. Nayan Banu, objected to the police raid because the men did not produce identification, were armed and in civilian clothes. The police then became violent with the elderly woman. SI Mokhlesur kicked Nayan on her abdomen. When she fell down on the ground the policemen proceeded to beat her with boots and riffles. As a result, Mrs. Nayan died at the scene. The women from the neighbouring houses, who came to rescue Mrs. Nayan, were also brutally beaten by the police. Among them was Mrs. Momtaj Begum who received considerable injuries.
Upon learning the incident, the people of the adjacent areas held a demonstration in the same night and the Upazilla Nirbahi Officer (UNO), Mr. Salahuddin Nagri, and the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of the Savar Circle, Mr. Saidur Rahman, assured the villagers that the alleged perpetrators would be punished exemplarily.
I have also learned that the inquest report prepared by a First Class Magistrate of the Dhaka Judge’s Court, Mrs. Suraya Parvin Shelly indicated that the signs of injuries were found on the head, abdomen and on the back of the victim’s body. The doctors of the Forensic Medicine department of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) have conducted the post mortem of which the report has not yet been revealed. The Second Officer of the Saver police station, SI Mr. Mortuza Kabir, lodged an ‘Unnatural Death’ (UD) case (number: 24/2006) regarding this incident on July 3. However, the victim’s son, Mr. Badsha Mian alleges that the Savar police refused to record his complaint regarding the murder of his mother on July 4. The Savar police only recorded the compliant as a General Diary (GD), number 192, instead of a First Information Report (FIR).
Meanwhile, the key perpetrator, SI Mr. Mokhlesur Rahman, and the two constables were suspended from their duties by the authorities. However, none of them have yet been arrested. The family of the deceased and the villagers demand an arrest and trial of the alleged perpetrators saying that ‘suspension is nothing but an eyewash’.
In light of this, I strongly urge you to ensure an impartial investigation into the actions of the police officer and other alleged perpetrators. If the alleged perpetrators are found guilty, then they must be held accountable for the crimes they committed. Appropriate compensation must be paid to the victims for the injuries that they have suffered.
I trust your intervention will be forthcoming.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mrs. Begum Khaleda Zia
Prime Minister
The Government of the Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh
Office of the Prime Minister
Old Parliament House,
Tejgaon, Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 8828160-79, 9888677
Fax: +880 2 8113244 or 3243 or 1015 or 1490
2. Mr. Md. Lutfozzaman Babor MP
State Minister
The Ministry of Home Affairs
The Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
The Bangladesh Secretariat
Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 7169069 (O) or 8359000 (R)
Fax: +880 2 7160405, +880 2 7164788
3. Mr. Sayed J. R. Modassir Hossain
Chief Justice
The Supreme Court of Bangladesh
Supreme Court Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 9562792
Fax: +880 2 9565058
4. Mr. A J Mohammad Ali
Attorney General of Bangladesh
Office of the Attorney General
Supreme Court Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 9562868
Fax: +880 2 9561568
5. Mr. Anwarul Iqbal
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
Bangladesh Police
Police Headquarters
Fulbaria, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 9562054 or 7176451 or 7176677 (O), +880 2 8362552 or 8362553 (R)
Fax: +880 2 9563362 or 9563363
6. Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)
Dhaka Range
Bangladesh Police
Office of the DIG of Dhaka Range
Segun Bagicha, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
7. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 9179016 (general)
E-mail: ssyed@ohchr.org
8. Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
c/o Ms Vernonica Birga
Room 3-042
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9615
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN)
Email: vbirga@ohchr.org / urgent-action@ohchr.org
9. Mr. Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Attn: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR EXECUTIONS)
Email: lventre@ohchr.org
Thank you.
Urgent Appeal Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
