Police, family versions differ on Chittagong custodial death

A theft suspect has died in police custody in Chittagong.

Chittagong Bureaubdnews24.com
Published : 30 May 2015, 03:07 PM
Updated : 30 May 2015, 03:07 PM

Md Ishaq Mia, 50, who used to work as a night-guard at a private company, was arrested on charges of theft on Friday night, according to police.

Police claimed that Mia committed suicide, while his family members alleged he was tortured to death.

An official of the Chittagong district administration, Rajib Ul Hasan, who supervised Mia’s post-mortem examination, said there was a injury mark on the right side of his (Mia’s) throat, which implied he was strangled.

“There is a two-centimetre wide cut mark on his forehead and a torture mark on the left side of his chest,” Hasan told bdnews24.com.

Police on Saturday said Mia had committed suicide at the prison’s bathroom but the suspect’s brother Dwin Mohammad and son-in-law claimed he was killed.

Jahid Enterprise’s manager filed a case over an incident of theft at his company on May 27.

But police and the family offered different versions over the arrest.

Kotwali Police Station OC Jashim Uddin said Mia was on-duty on the night of the theft but he went into hiding after the incident.

He claimed the company’s staff handed Mia over to police on Friday night.

But the suspect’s son-in-law Shawkat Ali said his father-in-law had gone to the city on Thursday morning.

But his office called him stating that the security guard who was supposed to be on-duty at that time had fallen sick.

They learnt about Mia being taken to the police station only on Friday, he said.

Ali said they were not allowed to meet Mia on Friday.

“A policeman demanded Tk 200 as bribe when we wanted to give my father-in-law some food. We came back without giving him anything,” he said.

On Saturday, when they went to meet Mia at the police station, they were told that he had committed suicide.

OC Uddin claimed Mia hanged himself with his shirt in the bathroom in the morning.

But his brother Dwin Mohammad rejected the police claim.

“My brother could not have committed suicide. He was tortured to death,” he told bdnews24.com.