Five policemen of Shah Ali Station suspended over death of tea-seller in alleged attack

Five policemen at Shah Ali Station in Dhaka have been suspended for their suspected links to the death of a tea-seller from burns during an alleged extortion attempt.

Amid a swathe of reaction and public outburst throughout the day, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Maruf Hossain Sarder spoke to bdnews24.com about the suspension on Thursday night.
 
The suspended policemen are sub-inspectors Sridham Chandra Howlader, Mominur Rahman Khan and Niaz Uddin Molla, assistant sub-inspector Debendra Nath and constable Jasim Uddin.
    
Those other than Howlader were withdrawn from duty earlier in the day after victim Babul Matubbar died from burn injuries he sustained on Wednesday night.

Among those who have protested against the ‘despicable’ police action is Jatiya Party MP Pir Fazlur Rahman.

He has demanded that Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal explain in Parliament the measures taken over recent police actions that have kicked up outrage.

Matubbar’s daughter filed a case accusing ‘local drug dealers’ early on Thursday.

The family later alleged police provided no help in taking the victim to hospital. 

They said police forced them into filing the case in a hurry, within four hours of the incident, to cover up their own involvement.

But Shah Ali Police Station OC AKM Shahin Mondol brushed aside the allegation.

The family also claimed the policemen who were putting pressure on Matubbar for money on Wednesday night hit a burning stove at his tea shop with baton, causing kerosene to spill out and the resultant flames to engulf him.

He suffered 90 percent burns, doctors said.

Police have been claiming that Matubbar was also a drug peddler and he had injured himself while trying to run away from a police source who had gone to his tea shop.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police have formed a two-strong committee to investigate the incident.