RAB arrests co-accused of Naogaon woman who died in custody

A joint secretary filed a case against Sultana Jasmine and Al Amin, accusing them of fraud, after her death in RAB custody

The Rapid Action Battalion has arrested a co-accused of the woman who died in custody in Naogaon after her detention on fraud allegations made by a joint secretary.

Al Amin, 32, a mobile banking agent in the northern district, was arrested in Dhaka’s Shahjahanpur on Tuesday, the RAB said in a statement on Wednesday.

The suspect confessed to swindling job-seekers out of hundreds of thousands of taka by using a fake Facebook ID of Joint Secretary Enamul Haque, who works at the Rajshahi divisional commissioner’s office.

Enamul alleged Al Amin and Jasmine duped unemployed people by promising them jobs through the fake social media ID.

He filed a case against them under the Digital Security Act at Rajpara Police Station in Rajshahi after Jasmine died at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital on Mar 24.

The RAB said it picked up Jasmine, 45, an office assistant at the land office in Chandipur union under the Sadar Upazila, for quizzing around 10am on Mar 22.

It claimed she fell ill immediately after her detention in the presence of Enamul.

Jasmine’s family alleged she was tortured in custody, questioning the whereabouts of Jasmine for hours after she was picked up.

Legal rights group Ain O Salish Kendra has alleged violation of the law in the detention of Jasmine.

It demanded the formation of a commission to identify those responsible for her death, questioning the fraud allegation brought by the joint secretary.

The High Court sought the post-mortem report on Jasmine and the names of the officers involved in her quizzing.