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February 15, 2007
Bangladesh - One of the junior reporters for the Weekly Blitz, the newspaper edited by honorary member Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury - was attacked by police when he tried to report a mugging on February 12th.
Story Continued...
Find below the full story that Choudhury sent in an email on February 12th.
Story of Police brutality!
Weekly Blitz, Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Believe it or not! Newly posted officer-in-charge of Paltan Police Station under Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) along with the culprit members of corrupt officers of the same police station, mercilessly assaulted one of the junior reporters of Weekly Blitz and snatched a ‘Samsung’ brand mobile phone, when the reporter went to the police station for lodging a complaint regarding a snatching incident.
Saiful Islam (aged 28), a junior reporter cum law intern was robbed off TK 23 thousand cash when he was going back home from the Weekly Blitz office on Sunday evening by armed group of 5-6 snatchers. He immediately grabbed one of the snatchers and reported to the nearby police officer on duty. He was then taken to Paltan Police Station along with the snatcher for filing complaint. Officer-in-charge of Paltan Police Station Muhammed Abdul Awal assigned sub inspector Selimuzzaman for lodging the complaint and investigate the case. Meanwhile, the snatcher managed to make a phone call to his relatives who immediately rushed to the spot and started bargaining with the officer-in-charge and sub inspector Selimuzzaman for releasing the arrested snatcher and offered them TK 50 thousand bribe. Once the matter was settled, the cash was handed over to the corrupt police officers in presence of Saiful Islam. At this stage, deprived Saiful asked the officer-in-charge (OC) as to whether this was the result of present government’s anti-corruption drive. The OC became angry on him and instructed Selimuzzaman to arrest Saiful under section 54 of Criminal Revision Procedure Code, a black law largely abused by Bangladeshi police in harassing innocent people. Being instructed, sub inspector Selimuzzaman immediately arrested the Blitz reported and inside OC’s room started beating him with stick. Later the OC also joined the beating along with a so-called journalist named Nayan. At one stage, police took out all clothes from Saiful’s body and continued beating him in nudity. Crying Saiful told the officers that he was not a criminal but a lawyer-cum-reporter and caught their legs for stopping the inhuman torture. At this stage, Selimuzzaman asked the on-duty constable of the police station to bring electric cords for giving shock to Saiful’s human genital. At this stage, the young man vomited inside the OC’s room because of severe pain and begged to the OC not for giving him electric shock. He said, “Sir, I will die if you continue to torture me. Please stop for the sake of God”. Helpless Saiful offered the sub inspector his ‘Samsung’ brand mobile phone in exchange of not being beaten further. After continuing this inhuman torture, the poor boy was sent to police station lock-up and later on Monday morning was sent to court with a case under section 54. It may be mentioned here that, section 54 is a black law of suspicious, which gives power to members of law enforcing agencies to arrest anyone without any reason. Later the young reporter was released on bail on the same evening.
When contacted, the officer-in-charge of Paltan Police station avoided call from newsmen and sub inspector Selimuzzaman was also not available for any comment.
The present interim government appointed Noor Muhammed as the new inspector general of police and Nayeem Ahmed as the Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, who told reporters that any allegation against police officers of violating the law or taking bribe will be handled in toughest manner. Noor Muhammed is known to be one of the extremely honest and committed police officers in Bangladesh. But, during his tenure as the Inspector General and especially during the ongoing anti-corruption drive of the interim government, unimaginable and barbaric incident inside Paltan Police Station has generated anger and confusion in the minds of lawyers, journalists and other members of the society.
Bangladesh Editor’s Forum (BEF) has strongly condemned the incident and demanded stern action against the culprit police officers of Paltan Police Station.
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
Journalist, Columnist, Author & Peace Activist
PENUSA FTW Award 2005, AJC Moral Courage Award 2006
Editor & Publisher, Weekly Blitz
Chief Editor, Weekly Jamjamat
Web: http://www.weeklyblitz.net