A court rejected Babul’s petition to start a case against six police officers over “forcing a confession out of him”
Published : 27 Sep 2022, 09:44 PM
The chief of Police Bureau of Investigation has charged Babul Akter, a former superintendent of police suspected of masterminding his wife's murder, and three others in a case under the Digital Security Act over spreading “lies and fabricated information”.
The PBI chief, Additional IGP Banaj Kumar Majumder, started the case with Dhanmondi police on Tuesday naming Babul, his father Abdul Wadud, brother Habibur Rahman Labu and Elias Hossain, an YouTuber, as the defendants.
Elias, who lives abroad, was formerly involved with journalism in Bangladesh.
Earlier this month, Babul, the plaintiff-turned-suspect in the murder of his wife Mahmuda Akter Mitu, petitioned a Chattogram court to start a case against six police officers, including the PBI chief, on charges of torturing him on various occasions to “force a confession out of him”.
His petition was rejected by the court two days ago.
Mitu was hacked and shot dead near the GEC Intersection in Chattogram on the morning of Jun 5, 2016, while she was taking her son to school. It happened a few days after Babul, who had been promoted to the rank of superintendent, joined the police headquarters in Dhaka.
After the incident, Babul started a case against a few unnamed suspects with the port city's Panchlaish Police Station.
It had initially been suspected that Babul’s actions against militants led to the murder of Mitu, but the investigation took a sharp turn after her family pointed the finger at Babul.
After PBI took charge of the investigation, it found Babul’s involvement in the murder of his wife. Later Babul was arrested.
PBI said Babul had an affair with another woman, a stormy issue that led to the murder of Mitu.
The investigators pressed formal charges against Babul and six other suspects on Sept 13. Babul was named as the mastermind.
The case filed by Banaj named Elias as the main accused for his alleged attempt to destroy religious harmony, spread hatred among the Hindus and Muslims, tarnish the image of police and the PBI chief, and damage Bangladesh’s relationship with India.
In the case, Banaj refuted claims made by Elias and Labu in YouTube videos that he framed Babul because of past animosity.