A trader has petitioned the court to file a case against four people, including a senior officer of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Detective Branch and a DB inspector, for ‘brutalising him’ and ‘forcing him to sign 76 checks’ while being interrogated in police custody.
Uttara clothing trader Atiqur Rahman petitioned the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge to file a case under the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act on Tuesday, said his lawyer Aminul Gani Tito.
Md Nazmul Haque, additional deputy commissioner of the DB’s Cyber and Special Crime Department (North) was accused in the complaint. The other accused were DB Inspector Saiful Islam, Saidur Rahman Habib from Savar’s Jaleshwar, and Mukarram Hossain Jimi of Uttara Sector 11.
The plaintiff, Atiqur Rahman, is the director and chairman of Uttara’s Golden Times Sweater and Sewing Limited and Sewing Limited and ASR Computerised Sweater Industries, reports bdnews24.com.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Asaduzzaman agreed to hear the petition on Wednesday.
The complaint for the case accuses the police personnel of misusing their authority and the others of conducting ‘deception under cover of business’ by referring to themselves as ‘associates of the police’.
DB official Nazmul described the allegations of torture in police custody as ‘unfounded’.
“Atiqur Rahman was taken into police custody over a case in 2019,” he said. “The allegations he has made are completely false and fabricated.”
No such incidents occurred in his department or during his tenure, said Tarek Bin Rashid, deputy commissioner of Detective Branch Special Crime (North).
“But I will still say that, as there has been an allegation, we will investigate the situation and find out what happened.”
Md Faruk Hossain, deputy commissioner of the DMP Media Wing’s Public Relations Department, said he was not aware of the situation.