Police admit Biswajit 'negligence’

A police official has admitted to the High Court of ‘negligence’ that eventually led to the death of Biswajit Das.

The bench of justices AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury and Mahmudul Hoque had summoned Sub-Inspector Zahidul Haque, who had prepared the autopsy report, and Maksudur Rahman, the doctor who autopsied the old Dhaka youth’s body.

The court questioned the autopsy report after watching the footage of the attack on Biswajit.

Biswajit Das, a tailoring shop owner, was beaten and stabbed on Dec 9 during the opposition-sponsored countrywide road blockade programme pressing for the installation of a non-partisan caretaker government.

He succumbed to his injuries after being taken to the hospital. A private TV station ran footage of the attack. The killing incident caught the ruling quarter off guard as the attackers were identified as members of pro-government student front of the Jagannath University unit.

The court wanted to see the two reports – information of facts and the autopsy – after a penal plea and summoned the duo.

Police official Haque said he had seen a light injury on Biswajit’s back, a nearly three-inch deep wound on the back and a slight one below his left knee.

Haque said he had prepared the ‘information of facts’ report around 11:45am but the incident took place around 9am. He said Biswajit had bled profusely from his injury in his back.

Doctor Rahman promptly added, “Biswajit died from excessive loss of blood as the artery in his back was sliced.”

Police neglected duty

The court then questioned Haque who had taken the injured youth to the hospital. The official skirted a direct reply saying, “Police were present at the spot. But the spot and police fell under two different stations.”

The court then repeated its question and the SI replied: “Police officials did not take him (Biswajit) to hospital but a rickshaw-puller did.”

Haque, however, could not identify the man.

“The rickshaw-puller first took Biswajit to National Medical College Hospital. Doctors there asked him to take the injured to the Dhaka Medical College or the Mitford Hospital. The rickshaw-puller took Biswajit to Mitford,” he added.

One of the judges said a rickshaw-puller took Biswajit to hospital but police couldn’t. What a shame! What bad luck for the nation! The rickshaw-puller took him to hospital braving threats on his own life. He should be rewarded for this.

The court then asked Deputy Attorney General Amit Talukder whether Biswajit was given proper treatment after he was taken to the emergency unit.

Talukder said he had no official information on the matter. “But media reports had suggested negligence. He was taken to hospital at 9:25am and died 25 minutes later.”

Apparently irritated, the court observed that saving the patient’s life should be the main duty of the emergency unit.

Incidents of patients’ deaths would not cease if the court did not become serious and give orders, the court said and added that it had to take a tough stance.

The court added that the responsible should be punished according to Section 304.

Autopsy report questioned

The footage of attack on Biswajit was then shown to the court.

The court asked the doctor if the autopsy report matched the footage.

The victim is moving around in the footage and the accused are also hitting him from different sides. Then how come your report mentions only one wound, it asked.

The doctor replied there could be several hits in an area and added that he had mentioned several small scars along with a major one.

When the court asked former Law Minister Abdul Matin Khasru the same question, he said that it seemed impossible from the footage that several slashes had hit the same spot.

The court then asked the doctor whether anyone had influenced him while preparing the autopsy report or trying to shield anyone and he replied in the negative.

He said he had examined the body around 1:45pm and wrote what he saw.

One of the judges cited the video footage where assailants had knifed Biswajit on his left side. The report did not mention it and the autopsy report and the video footage do not seem the same, he noted.

The court went ahead saying the number of slashes was unimportant but observed that the autopsy and ‘information of facts’ reports should be prepared accurately.

When asked why he delayed in submitting the charge-sheet, the SI said that he was not the investigation officer of the case but only prepared the ‘information of facts’ report.

Confusion over detainees

When the court asked about the number of detainees over the murder, the police officer said seven persons had been held so far.

However, the Deputy Attorney General had a different view saying, “According to my knowledge, the number is nine.”

Police have filed a case over Biswajit’s murder and quizzed the detainees in custody.

The court concluded that it would not give any order observing that it might influence the trial court and adjourned the case for two months.