Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) was informed that a man was allegedly beaten to death by the Nabiganj police in Habiganj district on 25 November 2006. After the police allegedly beat the driver of the commandeered private pickup van, the perpetrators left his dead body along a roadside ditch. No murder charges have been registered with the local police station against the alleged perpetrators. The government authorities have simply removed four out of the ten alleged perpetrators from the area.
CASE DETAILS:
On 25 November 2006, the Nabiganj police commandeered a pickup van (Number: Dhaka Metro-Ma-02-1997) from Mr. Harun Mian. In the evening, a ten-member police team lead by Sub Inspector (SI) Mr. Shafikul Islam went to different places using the van to detain those who they were arresting. The members of the police team were SI Mr. Badrul Hasan, Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Mr. Aman Ullah Sarkar, ASI Mr. Abdus Salam, constables Mr. Kabir Mian, Mr. Toyab Ali, Mr. Abdul Matin, Mr. Mosharaf Hossain, Mr. Humayan Kabir, and Mr. Abdus Sattar of the Nabiganj police station.
At around 11:00 pm, the police went to Umarpur village leaving the pickup van on the Habiganj-Nabiganj road adjacent to the village. SI Shafilul asked the pickup van driver Mr. Harun Mian to park the vehicle facing the direction of Nabiganj. After about half an hour, the police team came back and found the driver sleeping and had not moved the pickup van as he was asked to do. The police became visibly annoyed with the driver and cursed him. Harun protested the ill treatment of the policemen, at which point the police started beating him with sticks and riffle bats. The incident was witnessed by Mr. Oli Mian who is the assistant driver who fled the scene in order to save his own life.
The following morning on November 26, Oli Mian informed Harun’s family about the incident who then organized a search party. Finally, they found Harun’s dead body in a ditch beside the Habiganj-Nabiganj road near Umarpur Paler Bazar. The relatives of Harun and the villagers believe that after Harun died at the hands of police brutality, the officers threw his body into the ditch.
The Nabiganj police recovered the dead body after it was sent to the Habiganj Sadar Hospital for autopsy following an inquest conducted by police of the same police station on November 26. They have registered the killing merely as an Unnatural Death (UD) case with the Nabiganj police station instead of lodging a murder investigation against the errant policemen. No further action has been taken so far by the authorities.
Hundreds of workers burst into protests in the area having heard of the incident and demanded punishment of the alleged perpetrators however the police anyhow managed to convince the local workers leaders to stop their protest. On November 26, the district police administration then withdrew 4 policemen, including two SIs and two ASPs, out of 10 suspects for their involvement with the incident but so far no legal action has been initiated against them as well as the other 6 policemen.
The victim’s wife now strongly demands justice for the victim and punishment of the alleged perpetrators. She is also worried about her own family’s security, the livelihood and the future of her three children. The victim was the only breadwinner of the family. All the childresn are below the age of 10.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
In Bangladesh, it is common practice that the police frequently commandeer private vehicles by force for their own purposes. In most cases, they take away the private vehicles, including buses, trucks, microbuses, cars, jeeps, three-wheelers and rickshaw vans from the streets. When commandeering a vehicle, the police order the passengers to get out. If the driver refuses to vacate or fails to comply with the demands, the police will then beat the driver. It seems the only way of enforcing laws by the police of Bangladesh is beating, torturing and killing.
So-called action against the alleged perpetrators (police officers) by withdrawing them from the area is done whenever any of thee police personnel commit crimes in public. The local police administration then “closes” that particular person or a group of persons. This means that they withdraw the accused from one place and relocate them to another district police barrack. They do this with the intention of diverting the public attention from the original incident.
The AHRC deplores the murder of Harun and condemns the police’s practice of commandeering vehicles for their own personal use. The AHRC also is outraged to hear that the authorities have done nothing other than withdrawing four of the ten alleged murders from the area. We demand that the government of Bangladesh immediately investigate this case and provide exceptional compensation to the victim’s family. It should be considered a national shame that police officers are responsible for such atrocities. Corruption and the dysfunctional police system in Bangladesh are fast becoming amongst the worst in the world.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please immediately write to the relevant Bangladesh government authorities listed below urging them to take prompt action to investigate the conduct of the police in the alleged extra-judicial killing of Harun Mian. Please also send your letters to the relevant UN agencies listed below.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
BANGLADESH: A man beaten to death by the Nabiganj police in Habiganj district
Name of the victim: Mr. Md. Harun Mian, aged 33, a pickup van driver, son of the late Mr. Abdul Gafur, resident of Shandha village of Kaliabhanga union under the Nabiganj police station in Habiganj district, Sylhet division
Name of alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Shafikul Islam, Sub Inspector (SI) attached to the Nabiganj police station, Habiganj
2. Mr. Badrul Hasan, SI
3. Mr. Aman Ullah Sarkar, Assistant Sub Inspector of Police (ASI)
4. Mr. Abdus Salam, ASI
5. Mr. Kabir Mian, police constable (PC)
6. Mr. Toyab Ali, PC
7. Mr. Abdul Matin, PC
8. Mr. Mosharaf Hossain, PC
9. Mr. Humayan Kabir, PC
10. Mr. Abdus Sattar, PC
(All of them are attached to the Nabiganj police station, Habiganj district, Sylhet division)
Date of incident: At around 11:30pm on 25 November 2006
Place of incidence: Habiganj to Nabiganj road at Umarpur village, under Nabiganj police station in Habiganj district
I am writing to express my deep concern about the alleged extra-judicial killing of Harun Mian by the 10 police officers from the Nabiganj police station in Habignj district, Sylhet division, Bangladesh on 25 November 2006.
According to the information I have received, on 25 November 2006 the Nabiganj police commandeered the victim's pickup van wearing license plate number Dhaka Metro-Ma-02-1997 and 10 police officers mentioned above used the van to detain those who they were arresting in different places on the same evening. The victim was reportedly ordered by the police to drive the car.
However, at around 11:30pm on the Habiganj-Nabiganj road adjacent to the Umarpur village, the victim was brutally beaten by the said 10 officers with sticks and riffle bats, simply because he did not park the vehicle as they ordered. Mr. Oli Mian, the assistant driver and eye witness of the incident, fled the scene to save his own life.
I was informed that on the following morning on November 26, the victim's body was found by his family members and local people in a ditch beside the Habiganj-Nabiganj road near Umarpur Paler Bazar. The victim's family believes that the officers threw his body into the ditch after he died due to serious assault.
I am extremely disappointed to learn that have the Nabiganj police simply registered the killing as an Unnatural Death (UD) case instead of filing a murder case against the said 10 officers. I was also informed that the district police administration merely withdrew only four alleged perpetrators from the area and sent them to other police district barrack due to huge pressure from the local people, while the other 6 are still at large. No action has been initiated to bring the alleged perpetrators before court despite the fact that such crime is punishable under section 302 and 307 of the Penal Code of Bangladesh. I am also well aware that such so-call action against the alleged perpetrators (police officers) is an "eye wash" to divert the attention of the people.
I am also deeply concerned about the security and livelihood of the victim's family who lost the only breadwinner to support them. All the victim's children are aged below 10.
In light of the above, I strongly you to ensure that a prompt, fair and thorough investigation is taken into this alleged extra-judicial killing by the Nabiganj police. I am also deeply concerned by the impartiality of the investigation. It is hard to have a credit of the investigation result until it is conducted by the Nabiganj police where the alleged perpetrators were/are working. I therefore urge you to make an independent police agents investigate into this case and indict the alleged perpetrators under section 302 of the Penal Code of Bangladesh as soon as possible. Those responsible must be arrested with murder charges and detained in the remand prison as the murder charge is non-bailable by law. This will also ensure the security of the victim's family from possible harassment and threats by the alleged perpetrators or the local police. I also urge you to ensure that the family members are adequately compensated as well.
The repeated violations by the law enforcement officers in Bangladesh point out the urgent need of strict discipline among police and other security forces. Without these, such abuses will no doubt continue. To prevent such crimes by the state officers, the Bangladesh government must ratify the Convention against Torture (CAT) without further delay and strictly enforce it into domestic level.
Therefore, I strongly urge you together with other government officials in Bangladesh to take genuine action to reform the current law enforcement system by introducing better training programmes, enforcing strict discipline and punishment for any misconduct and crimes by the state officers against the citizens of Bangladesh.
I look forward to your urgent intervention in this matter.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Prof. Iajuddin Ahmed
President & Chief Adviser
Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Bangabhaban, Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 9568041, 7161501/A, 8311202/ 7161503/A
Fax: +880 2 9566242 or 9566593
2. Mr. Sayed J. R. Modassir Hossain
Chief Justice
The Supreme Court of Bangladesh
Supreme Court Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-02-9562792
Fax: +88-02-9565058
3. Mr. A J Mohammad Ali
Attorney General of Bangladesh
The Office of the Attorney General
Supreme Court Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-02-9562868
Fax: +88-02-9561568
4. Mr. Khoda Bokhs Chowdhury
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
Bangladesh Police
Police Headquarters'
Fulbaria, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-02-9562054 or 7176451 or 7176677
Fax: +88-02-9563362 or 9563363
5. Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)
Sylhet Range
Office of the DIG of SylhetRange
Bandar Bazar, Sylhet
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-0821-841181 (O)
Fax: +88-0821-840080 (O)
6. 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 (general)
Email: lventre@ohchr.org
Thank you.
Urgent Appeal Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
