Naogaon land office employee dies in RAB custody

Her family accuse the elite force of torturing her

An employee of a union land office has died in the custody of the Rapid Action Battalion and her family have accused the elite force of torturing her.

The RAB said they picked up Sultana Jasmine, 45, an office assistant at the land office in Chandipur union under the Sadar Upazila, for quizzing on allegations of fraud.

They also claimed they admitted her to a hospital after Sultana fell ill following her detention.

Her uncle Nazmul Haque Montu, a former councillor of Naogaon Municipality, said members of the RAB picked her up in a white microbus from near Naojoan ground when she was on her way to office on Wednesday morning.

The family contacted the law enforcers but no one could confirm her whereabouts. They learnt in the afternoon that she had been admitted to Nagaon Sadar General Hospital.

“I saw RAB personnel there. My niece was unable to speak,” said Nazmul.

She was transferred to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital after some time. Sultana died there on Friday morning. She was buried at Naogaon Government Graveyard on Saturday night after the RAB handed over the body.

“She was just an employee of the land office. No one accused her of corruption or financial irregularities,” Nazmul said.

Sultana lived in Naogaon town’s Janakalyan. She and her husband divorced 17 years ago. Their son Shahed Hossain Saikat, a student of Chattogram University, alleged the detention of his mother was part of a conspiracy.

“She died because of torture in RAB custody,” Saikat alleged.

RAB-5 Commander Nazmus Sakib said they had received a complaint of fraud against Sultana and abnormal transactions in her bank account.

“We picked her up for questioning after finding evidence [of corruption] in her bank statement. But she fell ill immediately after her detention.

“She was rushed to Nagaon Sadar Hospital being being moved to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital where she died of a stroke on Friday,” the RAB official claimed.

He refuted the allegation of torturing Sultana, saying she fell ill before being taken to any camp.

Moumita Jalil, the resident physician at the Nagaon hospital, said Sultana had symptoms of heart disease. “We didn’t check if she had signs of torture.”