Odhikar ‘doesn’t have’ the list

Odhikar Secretary Adilur Rahman Khan has said the human-rights body ‘does not presently have’ the list of the 61 people allegedly killed during a crackdown on marauding Hifazat-e Islam activists in Dhaka’s Motijheel in May, police say.

Liton Haiderbdnews24.com
Published : 12 August 2013, 05:53 PM
Updated : 12 August 2013, 06:18 PM

Police on Monday said they were well with legal bounds in quizzing Khan.

“During questioning, he (Khan) said he did not presently have the list of the 61 killed, according to his claim,” Dhaka Metropolitan Police Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said at media call.

He said they were going through the contents of three desktop PCs and two laptops seized from the rightwing human rights group’s office on Sunday to see they contained the so-called list.

In one of its reports, Odhikar claimed the police drive to evict the Hifazat activists had left 61 people dead on May 5. It refused to provide the government with the list of casualties when asked.

Police detained Khan on Saturday night for ‘distorting information’ and seized two laptops, three desktops and some papers the following day.

A Dhaka court on Sunday granted police five days to quiz him but the High Court froze the remand order on Monday but permitted them to question Khan at the jail gate.

The government issued a press note on Monday in the backdrop of concerns expressed by several international organisations alongside the BNP and its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami over the arrest. They have demanded Khan’s immediate release, who allegedly shares a close link with the Jamaat.

It explained the government position on the police action against Hifazat and Odhikar’s report on the matter.

The handout branded the Odhikar report ‘false and imaginary’ and alleged it published the data at ‘Adilur’s directives’.

“The intention was to tarnish the image of the law-enforcing agencies, government and the country,” it said.

Detective police spokesperson Monirul Islam said Adilur was being quizzed on the charges brought against him under the Information Communication Technology Act.

“We are trying to find out the source of the information claiming 61 people were killed at Motijheel, its motive and who had assisted him in this matter,” he said.

A detective involved in the probe said Adilur had told them he had sent a list of 61 killed to two foreign rights groups. “But he claimed he did not have the list with him now,” the police official said.

Former JaSad activist Adilur had contested the 1991 national polls from Munshiganj-1 constituency but only managed to get 251 votes.

DMP Joint Commissioner Islam said Adilur did not answer most of their queries.

He said police could detain anyone for the sake of investigation.

Another official on the probe team told bdnews24.com the Detective Branch had information that a group of Myanmar Rohingyas used Odhikar’s Gulshan office as their address.

Moreover, he said, police had information pointing to certain ‘relations’ between Odhikar and the banned Indian militant outfit ULFA. A top ULFA leader visited the Odhikar office, he said, according to police information.

The source, who preferred anonymity, said the detectives had ‘substantial evidence’ showing Odhikar had sent people to Pakistan.

Another detective police official told bdnews24.com that Adilur’s bank accounts were also being looked into.