BANGLADESH: Police shooting leads to five dead and approximately 50 injured 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a reliable source regarding the police shooting upon a crowd, which led to the death of five persons and injuries to a further 50. On 19 October 2005, police from the Companiganj police station, under the jurisdiction of the Noakhali district, gunned down five people in an attempt to stop a demonstration by agitated businessmen of Basurhat bazaar. The businessmen were protesting about the negligence of the police in arresting a gang of robbers, who had the previous night robbed a local jewellery store. When the protestors approached the police station, the police proceeded to use their batons to disperse the crowd, before opening fire on them.

Though two probe committees have been established to investigate both the robbery and the police shootings, pressure must be applied to the relevant authorities to ensure that justice is brought to those who are responsible for the death of the five people and the injuries to so many others.

We therefore call upon you to write to those authorities, requesting their immediate intervention. An independent commission headed by a High Court Judge should be established to properly investigate all those allegedly involved in the police shootings. The commission should also investigate allegations made about the link between the robbery and certain personnel within the Companiganj police force. The findings of the commission should be made public, and those believed to be responsible should be brought before a court of law. Full and adequate punishment should be served against those found guilty in this case. Financial compensation should be provided to the victims and victim’s families and protection should be offered to those who request it, while investigations and subsequent trials are taking place.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Victims: Firoz Alam (23), Babul Voumik (alias Shankar, 28), Alauddin (22), Kawsar (26) and Bidhan (24)
Alleged perpetrators: Police personnel from the Companiganj Police, under the jurisdiction of Noakhali district
Date of incident: 20 October 2005
Place of incident: Companiganj police station

Case Details:

A gang of armed robbers, numbering forty, driving a pickup van and a microbus, looted 320 gold ornaments and other valuables worth about Tk 50 lakh from a jewellery shop named ‘Hazi & Sons’ at Rupali Crossing of Basurhat bazaar in Companiganj on 19 October 2005. A local businessman, Shaheen informed the matter to Sub-Inspector Shudhangshu Chakravarti of Companijganj police when the robbers were trying to flee with the looted items. The police however, did not immediately respond to this information.

The following day businessmen and other local people gathered to protest at the inaction of the police. The leaders of the Bashundhara Traders Association alleged that the robbers fled the scene as police made an inordinate delay in reaching the crime spot, despite them being aware that a robbery was taking place. A clash between the police and locals ensued when the agitated businessmen began to throw rocks at the Companiganj police station. However, rather than attempt to calm the crowd down or speak to its leaders, the police instead used their batons to try to disperse the demonstrators before pulling out their guns and firing on them. As a result of this police shooting, five people died and approximately 50 others received injuries as a result of the bullets fired. The deceased were identified as Firoz Alam, Babul Voumik (alias Shankar), Alauddin, Kawsar and Bidham. Amongst those injured were Shvash Mazumdar, Master, Taj Uddin, Salim, Khokon, Seku, Belayet and Swapan. The injured were immediately rushed to Noakhali General Hospital and Upazilla Health Complex for treatment.

Senior officials from the police and the Rapid Action Battalion visited the scenes of both the robbery and the police shootings shortly after. Two probe committess were formed to investigate the overall incident. One committee, headed by the Additional District Magistrate – comprising one Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and one Class One Magistrate – were assigned to investigate the police shootings. The other committee, headed by the Additional Superintendent of Police – along with two more ASP level police officials – was formed by the Department of Police to investigate both the robbery and the police shootings.

Both committees took depositions from over 100 people on October 22, and continued to do so in the days that followed.

In the meantime, the Superintendent of Police of Noakhali district, A.K.M. Shahidul Islam, the Office-in-Charge (OIC) of Companiganj police station, Ayub Ali and Sub-Inspector, Shudhangshu Chakravarti, have been withdrawn from their regular duties by higher authorities within the police department.

The local businessmen continue in their fight for justice and demand the arrest of OIC Ayub Ali, whom they allege was involved in both the robbery and the killing of the five people.

It should be noted that a fact-finding report by a reliable source reported that OIC Ayub Ali alleged killed opposition student leader, Rakib Hossain Khan Tushar in Gopalganj district on 31 July 2004, when Ali was the OIC of Gopalganj Sada police station.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the authorities listed below seeking their intervention in this very serious matter.

 

 

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