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Friday, November 26, 2010

REPORT:Home Ministry Probe of Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s Death In RAB-Police Custody

People’s Republic of Bangladesh Government
Ministry of Home Affairs
Law Branch
Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka-1000

Investigation Report

Reference:
(1) The order of 09/03/2010 under the complaint no.89/09 of National Human Rights Commission, 6/3 Block-D, Lalmatia, Dhaka, based on the complaints of Asian Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) and other international organisations working with issues of human rights.

(2) স্বঃমঃ/রাজ-১/মানবাধিকার লংঘন/৪-১৩/২০০৯/২৮৭, তারিখ- ১৯/৪/২০১০ (The Ministry of Home Affairs document, dated 19/04/2010)

(3) The news report in Daily Karatoa on 05/01/2010 with headline “র‌্যাবের পিটুনিতে আহত এ্যপোলো হাসপাতালের টেকনিশিয়ানের মৃত্যু” (RAB Beats Apollo Hospital Technician To Death),

Complaint of Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s Family:

On 22/01/2010 at around 12:00pm, plain clothed RAB-4 personnel Anwar, Babul and Biswanath came to house no.928, road no.5, section-7 at Pallabi, Mirpur, Dhaka 1216 and asked Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s father Md. Abdul Majid if it was the house no.28. Md. Abdul Majid replied it was house no.928. The RAB men asked if Md. Mohiuddin Arif lives in that house. Md. Abdul Majid nodded his head positively in reply to their question. The RAB men asked what Md. Mohiuddin Arif does and how he is related to Md. Abdul Majid. Md. Abdul Majid replied that Arif was a technician at Apollo Hospital and was his son. As the RAB personnel started to leave the place, Md. Abdul Majid asked them their identity. They replied that they are friends of Md. Mohiuddin Arif. On the following day on 23/01/2010, the RAB personnel told Md. Asif Iqbal Khan Moni, a resident of Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s neighborhood, to call them at the number 01614093645 as soon as they see Md, Mohiuddin Arif in the area. Md. Asif Iqbal Khan Moni told the matter to Md. Abdul Majid and said that he can make a call in that number to know the situation. As Md. Abdul Majid requested, Md. Asif Iqbal Moni called-up the number, the RAB personnel gave to him. The person on the other side of the phone told that he was a RAB-4 personnel, looking for Md. Mohiuddin Arif because there are complaints of criminal offenses against him.

On the following day at around 7:30am, 3 RAB personnel came in front of Md. Abdul Majid’s residence, asked about his son Md. Mohiuddin Arif while introducing themselves as the RAB men who had a conversation with him earlier on 23/01/2010. As they asked Md. Abdul Majid about his son, he replied that he has gone out of the house. At the insistence of RAB personnel, Md. Abdul Majid called-up Md. Mohiuddin Arif and asked him to come home. Md. Abdul Majid sat with the RAB personnel in a tea-stall on the street beside his residence and arranged tea for the RAB men. On receiving his father’s phone-call, Md. Mohiuddin Arif came home at around 10:15am meanwhile RAB personnel were waiting at the tea-stall. As Md. Mohiuddin Arif introduced himself to the RAB personnel, they told him that he would be arrested as he had criminal records. As the RAB personnel attempted to take Md. Mohiuddin Arif with them, Md. Abdul Majid wanted to go with them. In response, the RAB personnel told him not to worry and  gave him the phone number 01614093645 to contact them when required and said that they will let Md. Mohiuddin Arif go as soon as their interrogation was over. Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s family called up in that number at around 1:00pm on that day (24/01/2010), but failed to communicate with the right person as someone from the RAB office told them that ‘sir’ has gone to the Ijtema prayers, Md. Mohiuddin Arif will be allowed to go as soon as ‘sir’ gets back and is done with the interrogation. On that day (24/01/2010) at around 1:00pm, 4 RAB personnel took Md. Mohiuddin Arif to the mosque market at Milk Vita Road, Mirpur and spent sometime in the place walking with Arif. The eye-witnesses said that Md. Mohiuddin Arif was limping and it appeared that he was unable to walk properly. Md. Mohiuddin Arif was handcuffed. On the same day (24/01/2010), 2 RAB personnel came to Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s residence at around 8:30pm with Md. Mohiuddin Arif.

Entering the room, RAB personnel took the keys from Mohiuddun’s wife Mrs. Mahfuza Aktar to open the cupboard looking for firearms. As they found no firearms there, they asked Arif where were the firearms he had mentioned during the interrogation. Arif replied that he had told them about possessing  firearms so that they would stop torturing him. Failing to recover any firearms, RAB personnel started to leave with him. While he was being taken out of the room, Arif collapsed near the door and begged his father not to let RAB take him away, instead he asked his father to kill him because he could not endure any more torture. RAB personnel carried him off to the vehicle and left. Arif’s family repeatedly tried the number RAB gave them earlier but failed to connect. On the following day on 25/01/2010, Arif’s brother Md. Mahbub Alam Khokon, relative Md. Zahirul Alam and neighbour Md. Shwapon Master went to the RAB-4 office and saw a RAB vehicle entering the office with Arif in it. As they wanted to meet Arif, they were told from the office that Arif would be handed over to Pallabi Police Station on that day (25/01/2010). On that same day (25/01/2010), Md. Abdul Majid with his two sons, other relatives and neighbours, went to Pallabi PS. They talked to the officer in-charge (OC) of Pallabi PS and told him that they wanted to meet Arif. The OC informed that the meeting could not be arranged. Then Mr. Majid requested him to give some food that they had brought for Arif. The OC informed them that biriani will be served for Arif after 12:00am midnight. The OC allowed them send the food to Arif and left the PS. Later Arif ate the food in front of a constable and was taken inside afterwards. On the following day on 26/11/2010, Md. Mohiuddin Arif was produced in the court under section 394 of the penal code, case no.15, dated 04/01/2010. From the court, Arif was sent to Dhaka Central Jail. For better medical treatment, Arif was moved to Dhaka Medical College Hospital from the central jail. Md. Majid met with Arif at the hospital, where he saw that Arif’s two eyes, lips and two legs were swollen. Blood clots were visible in Arif’s legs below the knees. The right leg was more swollen than the other. Both the legs were noticeably bruised. Arif was feeling nausea and vomited at one stage. Color of his vomit was blue. Though Arif was severely ill, a duty doctor from the department of orthopaedic surgery sent Arif for plastering rather than admitting him to the hospital for further treatment. After Arif was taken for plastering, rather than plastering him, officials on duty provided a list of required materials and told them to bring the patient on 04/02/2010 for plastering. As Arif was seriously suffering from his wounds, Md. Majid bought the list of required materials and requested them to plaster his wounds. Following his request, the officials told Md. Majid that they can plaster only after the materials are brought from the central jail. Then the prison guards took Arif to the central jail. On 04/02/2010, Arif’s relatives went to Dhaka Medical College Hospital at 10:00am as asked by the officials earlier, but found that Arif had not been brought from the central jail. Then, receiving a phone call from the central jail, Arif’s two brothers went there. At the central jail, they learnt that Arif had died on 03/02/2010. After an on-spot examination in the presence of a magistrate and post mortem, Arif’s brothers received Arif’s dead body at around 6:00pm on 04/01/2010 and reached home with the dead body at around 8:00pm on the same day (04/01/2010). As the news of Arif’s death spread, a number of local residents came to the streets with a procession. As a result of the procession, Pallabi PS police filed a case against 30/40 unnamed suspects on charges of assaulting the police and vandalizing their vehicles. Md. Majid’s claim is that RAB’s intense torture has caused the death of his son Mohiuddin Arif. His wife was widowed and two children were orphaned at his death. Arif’s father Md. Majid has sought justice for his son’s death, punishment of the responsible RAB personnel and compensation from the government. He also demanded that the government prevent such tortures by RAB and police and has sought for necessary laws to be passed by the parliament to prevent such acts.

Reasons & Date of Mohiuddin Arif’s Arrest and Statements about What Happened During the  Raid by 3 RAB Personnel Who Led the Raid:

Sergeant Sri Biswanath Roy, lance-naik Md. Atiqur Rahman and constable Md. Babul Aktar, all three members of RAB-4, CPC-2, Mirpur-1, Dhaka, learnt from the company commander at around 10:00am on 25/01/2010 while on duty under the RAB-4 1607 GD at the 6th and 7th ward in the area under Pallabi PS that three or four suspects of the Pallabi PS no.15, dated 04/01/2010 under section 394 of the penal code have gathered at the scrap shop owned by Md. Robin at section-7, Jhilpar slum to distribute looted money and goods. Based on the secret information, Sergeant Biswanath Roy along with the accompanying force raided the scrap shop of Md. Robin at the mentioned location at around 10:30am on 25/01/2010, where they found Md. Mohiuddin Arif, Md. Robin, Md. Delwar Hossain Lablu alias Hablu and two-three other absconding suspects. As the RAB personnel tried to arrest the suspects, the others escaped but Md. Mohiuddin Arif, Md. Delwar Hossain Lablu alias Hablu and Md. Robin were arrested. Following the interrogation, the three disclosed their names and locations. RAB personnel recovered 4 mobile handsets, 2 SIM cards, 1 injection syringe and an ID card of Mohiuddin Arif. The three accused informed that the looted goods were kept with their other colleagues. During the raid, accused Md. Mohiuddin Arif fell on the pitch road as he tried to abscond and wounded his knee. This was informed to the company commander and at his order, Md. Mohiuddin Arif was taken to Suhrawardi Hospital where he received treatment and was taken back to the battalion under GD no.1634 at 14:20pm on 25/01/2010. Later, at the order of the company commander, the three accused together with the seized 4 mobile handsets, 2 SIM cards, 1 injection syringe, 1 ID card and 3 doctor’s prescriptions for the 3 men were handed over to Pallabi PS at 17:05 on 25/01/2010 under GD no.1437 by RAB-4.

Statement of Pallabi PS Authority:
The suspects of the Pallabi PS, case no.15, dated 04/01/2010 under section 394 of the penal code, Md. Mohiuddin Arif, Md. Robin and Md. Delwar Hossain Lablu alias Hablu, who were injured, were received with 4 mobile handsets, 2 SIM cards, 1 injection syringe, 1 ID card and 3 doctor’s prescriptions for the 3 men from sergeant/1437008 at RAB-4 Sri Bishwanath Roy and his accompanying forces by the duty officer of Pallabi PS ASI/15710 (assistant sub-inspector) Md. Mohsin Ali with permission of Pallabi PS OC (officer in-charge) Md. Iqbal Hossain over telephone. The three were shown arrested as the suspects of case no.15, dated 04/01/2010 with the consent of its IO (investigating officer) ASI Md. Firoz Hossain Molla. The three accused were searched and nothing was found except for the clothes they were wearing but marks of injuries were noticed. IO Md. Firoz Hossain Molla came to the police station and interrogated the suspects. Md. Robin agreed in giving his confessional statement under section 164. Under the circumstances, the decision was taken to produce Md. Robin to the court separately while the other two suspects would be produced separately with a petition for 5 days’ remand. The court received the statement of Md. Robin under section 164, ordered all suspects to be sent to jail and to provide  medical treatment to Md. Mohiuddin Arif.

Enquiry Process:
According to the complaint no.89/09 by the Human Rights Commission, dated 09/03/2010, the Ministry of Home Affairs formed an Investigating Committee which ordered the presentation of all statements of Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s family, confessional statements of RAB-4 personnel involved in the raid in which Arif was arrested, confessional statements of Pallabi PS OC and other concerned police personnel and the documented statement of the jail-guard Md. Zakir Hossain (no.2651) together with the documents of all incidents occurring between the time of arrival of Arif at Dhaka Central Jail and the time of his death. At the instructions of the Committee, 3 RAB-4 personnel involved in the raid, 2 members of Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s family, Pallabi PS OC Md. Iqbal Hossain and the duty officer Md. Mohsin Ali and the 5 jail guards present during Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s journey between Dhaka Medical College and Dhaka Central Jail, submitted their confessional statements to the committee. In order to the find the fact, the committee quizzed the 3 RAB-4 personnel and the duty officer of Pallabi PS Md. Mohsin Ali. The committee visited the concerned locations on 24/07/2010 and talked to the neighboring shopkeepers Md. Yousuf and Md. Noman of the RAB-mentioned scrap shop of Md. Robin. While inspecting the neighborhood as well as the residence of Md. Mohiuddin Arif, the committee received the separate written statements of Mohiuddin Arif’s first cousin Md. Yasin Mia, neighbor Md. Ramzan, wife Begum Mahfuza Aktar and younger brother Md. Giasuddin. The committee also recorded the statements of a neighbor selected by RAB-4 Md. Asif Iqbal Khan Moni, owners of 3 neighboring shops Md. Ohab Munshi, Md. Kamal Hossain and Md. S.M. Zakaria, and the accused of the Pallabi PS case no.15, dated 04/01/2010 Md. Delwar Hossain Lablu alias Hablu. On the same day (24/07/2010), the Committee visited the Pallabi PS where it recorded the statement of the IO Md. Firoz Hossain Molla. The Committee recorded the statement of Md. Robin on 25/06/2010 who was in the central jail. On 29/07/2010, the Committee recorded the statement of Dr. Asit Kumar Saha, the duty doctor at Suhrawardy Hospital who provided treatment to the three suspects. The committee also obtained concerned documents from the hospital. As asked by the Committee, the Shahbag PS OC, through the memorandum no.4470, provided the committee with documents of an on-spot investigation report of Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s dead body, the postmortem report, the case of unnatural death no.10 dated 03/02/2010, notification no.1391/1 dated 03/02/2010 by the Senior Jail Super of Dhaka Central Jail for performing the on-spot investigation, reports of the post-mortem and filing of the case and the death certificate of Md. Mohiuddin Arif issued by Dhaka Medical College Hospital on 03/02/2010.

Points To Be Noted:
1.      On which date, at what time and from where Md. Mohiuddin Arif was arrested and how long he was
kept in the custody of RAB-4?
2.      Was Md. Mohiuddin Arif physically tortured? If so, which agency did the torture? Did he die
as a result of the torture?
3.      Was there any negligence by Dhaka Medical College Hospital or Dhaka Central Jail in providing
medical treatment to Mohiuddin Arif?

Discussion and Decisions:
Point 1 to Be Noted:
Md. Mohiuddin Arif (30), son of Md. Abdul Majid, resident of section-7, road-5, house-928, Pallabi, Dhaka with other two companions were arrested at around 10:30am on 25/01/2010 by Sergeant Sri Biswanath Roy, Lance-Naik Md. Atiqur Rahman and Constable Md. Babul Aktar, all three members of RAB-4, CPC-2, Mirpur-1, Dhaka who raided the scrap shop owned by Md. Robin at section-7, Jhilpar slum near Purabi Cinema hall, based on secret information that three or four suspects of Pallabi PS no.15, dated 04/01/2010 under section 394 of the penal code have gathered at the scrap shop owned by Md. Robin at section-7, Jhilpar slum to distribute the looted goods. A GD (no.1634) was filed on the same day at 16:20 describing the incident, where it was mentioned that Sergeant Sri Biswanath Roy, Lance-Naik Md. Atiqur Rahman and Constable Md. Babul Aktar, all three members of RAB-4, CPC-2, Mirpur-1, Dhaka, based on secret information, learnt at 10:00am on 25/01/2010 while on duty under the RAB-4 1607 GD at the 6th and 7th ward in the area under Pallabi PS that three or four suspects of the Pallabi PS no.15, dated 04/01/2010 under section 394 of the penal code have gathered at the scrap shop owned by Md. Robin at section-7, Jhilpar and conducted a raid at the mentioned location at around 10:30am on 25/01/2010, where they found Md. Mohiuddin Arif, Md. Robin, Md. Delwar Hossain Lablu alias Hablu and 2/3 other  absconding suspects. Some other suspects present during the raid escaped. The mentioned suspects received wounds in their hands and legs as they scuffled with the RAB personnel to evade arrest. Sergeant Sri Biswanath Roy noted in the GD no.1634 that legal process over the accused men will be started after they receive treatment from Suhrawardi Hospital. Statements of the 3 concerned RAB personnel make it clear that the 3 accused men including Md. Mohiuddin Arif were arrested from the scrap shop of Md. Robin on 25/01/2010 morning. To find out the truth of the confessions given by the RAB personnel, the committee examined the statements received from the duty doctor and documents of Suhrawardy Hospital describing the treatment and other processes of the three accused men. According to the statement of Suhrawardy Hospital duty doctor Dr. Asit Kumar Saha and the documents of the hospital, on 25/01/2010 at around 3:30pm, some RAB personnel brought the 3 injured men named Md. Mohiuddin Arif, Md. Robin and Md. Delwar Hossain, who were admitted to the hospital under registration numbers 829/1, 830/2 and 831/3 respectively. Here, suspicion rises that which of the records provide the true statements, the one given by the hospital or the one given by RAB-4. Because according to the RAB-4 GD no.1634 describing the arrest of the three men, the RAB personnel carrying the three accused men reported to RAB-4 headquarters at 2:20pm on 25/01/2010 after receiving medical treatment from Suhrawardy Hospital.  Whereas the Suhrawardy Hospital documents state that the three men were brought after 3:30pm. The Committee pointed out the gap of 1 hour 10 minutes that the RAB records showed. It thus became evident to the Committee that RAB intentionally recorded untrue statements to COVER-UP the facts about when and for how long Md. Mohiuddin Arif was kept in their custody, or in other words, the statement provided by RAB-4 is suspicious. The Committee then compared the statements of the witnesses said to be present at the location from where RAB reportedly arrested the suspects at 10:30am on 25/01/2010.

Md. Yousuf, owner of a tea-stall beside the scrap shop of Md. Robin, told the committee that he knew Md. Mohiuddin Arif. He learnt that Arif had gone to attend the 2010 Bishwa Ijtema, from where he had to walk back home as he could find no transport and eventually fell ill because of the long walk. On the following day Md. Yousuf learnt that RAB had arrested Mohiuddin Arif on the last day of the Ijtema.

Md. Noman, owner of another scrap shop beside Md. Robin’s, was doing business for 5 years in that area. He also attended the prayers of 2010 Bishwa Ijtema, from where he returned to the neighborhood, stopped at a tea-stall owned by Milon and heard that Md. Mohiuddin Arif, owner of the mobile phone recharge shop, was arrested by RAB the previous night at around 7:45pm. He further heard that Md. Robin, an employee of the shop, had also been arrested. He heard that Hablu and Robin were not arrested in the same raid. He heard that on the day of Ijtema prayers, Hablu and Robin were arrested in two separate raids conducted by RAB.

Md. Ohab Munshi, an owner of a shop located at the entrance to the alley beside Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s house, told the committee that he heard on the day of this year’s (2010) Ijtema prayers that Md. Mohiuddin Arif, son of Mr. Abdul Majid, was arrested by RAB in the morning on that day. Md. Ohab Munshi’s son Zakaria was in the shop on that day. Md. Ohab Munshi came to the shop after saying his Maghreb prayers. At around 8:00pm, some RAB personnel came to his shop and asked them to come to Mohiuddin Arif’s residence with them. As Md. Ohab Munshi refused to accompany the RAB personnel, the RAB personnel tried to convince him by saying that no harm will be done to him. At repeated insistence by the RAB personnel, Md. Ohab Munshi and his neighbouring shopkeeper Md. Kamal Hossain went with the RAB personnel to the residence of Md. Mohiuddin Arif. As they entered Arif’s residence, they saw Arif sitting on a bed and two RAB personnel sitting beside him. One RAB personnel gave some keys to Md. Ohab and told him to open a locked closet in the room. As Md. Ohab could not open the lock, another person came forward and opened the closet. While searching the closet, the RAB personnel told Md. Mohiuddin Arif, “You told us there are arms in the cupboard. Where are those?” Md. Mohiuddin Arif replied, “I told you about the arms because I could not bear the beatings anymore. I do not have any arms. I lied so that you would stop torturing me.”

S.M. Zakaria, son of the shopkeeper Md. Ohab Munshi, told the committee that their family has a tea-stall on the entrance to the alley beside the residence of late Md. Mohiuddin Arif. His father, brother and he ran alternately ran the shop. On the day of this year’s (2010) Ijtema prayers, Majid uncle (Md. Abdul Majid) came to his shop with two other men at around 8:00am. Zakaria could only serve liquor tea at that time but one of the men with Md. Abdul Majid wanted milk-tea. So Md. Abdul Majid arranged to bring milk tea from another shop on the streets. Rest of the men had the liquor tea served by Zakaria. The two men with Md. Abdul Majid also ate biscuits. One of the men was restlessly walking around. The other man asked Md. Abdul Majid about Mohiuddin Arif and Md. Abdul Majid replied that Arif has said over phone that he was coming. They spent about 1 to one and a half hours at his shop. At one stage, they saw Mohiuddin Arif walking down the streets. Seeing Arif, the two men and Md. Abdul Majid left his shop. After a while, he saw that Md. Mohiuddin Arif was being taken away. He heard the cries of both male and female coming from the streets and realized that Md. Mohiuddin Arif was being arrested. Later he learnt that a group of RAB men without uniform came and took Md. Mohiuddin Arif away. On that day, RAB personnel came to the area again after the Maghreb prayers. The RAB men asked Zakaria’s father Md. Ohab Munshi to accompany them to Arif’s residence but his father was reluctant to go. But the RAB men insisted saying no harm will be done to him.

Md. Kamal Hossain, a shopkeeper of a shop located on the streets in front of Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s house, told the committee that he heard on the day of this year’s (2010) Ijtema prayers that Md. Mohiuddin Arif, son of Mr. Abdul Majid, was arrested by RAB in the morning on that day. Several RAB personnel again came after the Maghreb prayers and at around 8:00pm. Some RAB personnel came to his shop and asked him to accompany them to Mohiuddin Arif’s residence. At the insistence of RAB personnel, Md. Kamal Hossain and Md. Ohab Munshi went with the RAB personnel to the residence of Md. Mohiuddin Arif. As they entered Arif’s residence, they saw Arif was sitting on a bed and two RAB personnel sitting beside him. The RAB personnel searched a closet in the room for arms. As they failed to find any arms, the RAB personnel told Md. Mohiuddin Arif, “You told us there are arms in the closet. Where are those?” Md. Mohiuddin Arif replied, “I told you about the arms out of fear of further beating and death. I do not have any arms. Please let me go. I want to hang myself to commit suicide.”

Md. Asif Iqbal Khan Moni, the person used by RAB as their contact to arrest Md. Mohiuddin Arif and whose mobile number was given to Arif’s family by RAB for further communication after arrest, gave statements describing how the RAB personnel made contact with him. Concluding the statement he told, he was standing in front of the water pump at Mirpur section-7 at around 2:30pm on 23/01/2010 when two RAB men came to him, asked him for whereabouts of Md. Mohiuddin Arif, resident of house no.928 and gave him a slip where Arif’s name and home address were written. Md. Asif Iqbal Khan Moni knew a RAB personnel called Atiq from before. The RAB men took him to Evergreen Studio on road no.5 and instructed to disclose everything he knew about Md. Mohiuddin Arif. Atiq, the RAB man he knew from before, introduced Sri Biswanath to him, stating that Biswanath was a very sincere officer. After that, Moni came to the residence of Md. Majid uncle (father of Md. Mohiuddin Arif, his residence too) with the phone number that RAB gave him. Moni told Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s family everything the RAB men had said to him. In the evening on that day (23/01/2010), he personally talked to Md. Mohiuddin Arif. Arif told him that he was not involved in anything illegal, so he could not understand why RAB was looking for him. Arif told Md. Asif Iqbal Khan Moni, “You give my father’s phone number to them and ask them to talk to him”. This was the last time Md. Asif Iqbal Khan Moni talked to Md. Mohiuddin Arif. Moni also told the Committee that, 10/12 days ago (10/12 days before the day on which he gave the statement to the Committee) RAB personnel Biswanath called him and asked him to come to a meeting at Sonar Bangla Studio at Abashik More, Rupnagar. Biswanath held Moni’s hand saying, “You are my friend. You can save my life. If anyone from any human rights organization comes to you and wants to talk about Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s issue, please avoid them. Please do not let them know that I have talked to you.” Moni said he can prove the same by calling-up in Bishwanath’s phone bearing the number 01614093645. However, on the following day on 24/01/2010, Md. Abdul Majid called-up his son Md. Mohiuddin Arif to come back home from his workplace and handed him over to the RAB. Even if Arif was involved in any illegal activity, no father would generally hand his son over to the RAB.

Owners of the shops adjacent to RAB-stated Robin’s scrap shop at Jhilpar slum Md. Yousuf and Md. Noman, owners of the tea-stall located in Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s neighborhood Md. Ohab Munshi, Md. S.M. Zakaria, Md. Kamal Hossain and Md. Asif Iqbal Khan Moni who was used as a contact by RAB to arrest Md. Mohiuddin Arif, all these people who are not related to Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s family, have told the committee that Md. Mohiuddin Arif was arrested by RAB personnel in the morning on the day of this year’s (2010) Ijtema prayers. It should be made clear on which date the Ijtema prayers of this year was held. In the minutes of a meeting on issuing visas to Ijtema guests, presided over by the Minister of Home Ministry, held on 14/12/2009, it is revealed that the Bishwa Ijtema 2010 was held between 22 and 24 January, 2010. Therefore, the prayers of this year’s (2010) Ijtema was held on 24/01/2010. Therefore, according to the confessional statements of the witnesses questioned by the committee, Md. Mohiuddin Arif, resident of house no.928, road no.5, section no.7 of Mirpur, was arrested by RAB-4 personnel on the morning of 24/01/2010 and taken to the RAB-4 headquarters after 10:00am that same morning. On the same day (24/01/2010) after 8:00pm, a RAB-4 team came to Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s residence with Md. Mohiuddin Arif to recover arms.

For whatever reason, RAB recorded information about Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s arrest changing the real time and location, stating that the arrest was made at 10:30am on 25/01/2010 at the Jhilpar slum at section.7 of Mirpur. Md. Robin, who RAB-4 stated to have arrested with Md. Mohiuddin Arif, told this committee that he left for the Ijtema grounds situated at Tongi at around 7:00am on 24/01/2010, on the day of this year’s (2010) Ijtema prayers. He returned from Tongi at around 4:30pm to his shop and was eating bread with tea at a neighboring shop owned by Parvez, while a team comprising RAB personnel in civil dress came to Md. Robin’s shop with Md. Mohiuddin Arif. Md. Robin came to the RAB team as Md. Mohiuddin Arif called his name. As Md. Robin came, the RAB personnel tied him tight with the shawl he was wearing and forced him to get inside a red private car. Statement given by the suspect Md. Robin again proves that Md. Robin was not arrested at 10:30am on 25/01/2010 rather he was arrested on 24/01/2010.

Md. Delwar Hossain Lablu alias Hablu, the other suspect, told the committee that on the day of this year’s (2010) Ijtema prayers, after arresting Md. Robin and parking the RAB vehicle in front of Purabi Cinema Hall, two RAB personnel with Md. Robin came to Lablu’s shop and asked his employee Bachchu about  the price of one kg iron. Meanwhile, RAB personnel arrested Lablu as Md. Robin identified him to the RAB personnel by pointed at him as Lablu played ludoo inside the shop. The vehicle in which Lablu was taken, he saw Md. Mohiuddin Arif already inside. RAB personnel took Md. Mohiuddin Arif and Md. Delwar Hossain Lablu alias Hablu in that vehicle while Md. Robin was taken elsewhere to arrest Billal Sweeper. Md. Mohiuddin Arif and Lablu, at around 8:15pm on the day of this year’s (2010) Ijtema prayers (24/01/2010), were taken to the residence of Mohiuddin Arif. Lablu was kept inside the vehicle while RAB personnel took Md. Mohiuddin Arif inside his residence. After around 15/20 minutes, two RAB personnel placed Md. Mohiuddin Arif in the vehicle grabbing him from two sides by holding his two hands. They were taken to the RAB-4 headquarters. Statement of the suspect Md. Delwar Hossain Lablu alias Hablu given to this committee proves that Md. Mohiuddin Arif was not arrested on 25/010/2010 rather he was arrested on 24/01/2010. Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s father Md. Abdul Majid, brother Md. Mahbub Alam Khokon, Md. Gias Uddin, wife Mrs. Mahfuza Aktar, paternal cousin Md. Yasin Mia and neighbour Md. Ramzan confirmed in their statements given to this committee that Md. Mohiuddin Arif was arrested at around 10:00am on 24/01/2010. It can be argued that the relatives of Md. Mohiuddin Arif have not provided the facts in their statements in order to put the blame on RAB. But the other witnesses, who are not among the relatives of Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s family, gave their statements to this committee on their own where there is no room to suspect that they have deliberately provided wrong information. Rather the RAB personnel, who abused their power to arrest Md. Mohiuddin Arif on 24/01/2010 without keeping any official record of the arrest on that date, rather had officially recorded the arrest to have taken place on 25/01/2010 and changed the real location while recording in the concerned GD no.1634 at RAB-4 headquarters. Moreover, the time mentioned in the RAB GD about taking the suspects to Suhrawardy Hospital for medical treatment is also suspiciously different from the official records of Suhrawardy Hospital, as mentioned earlier. This committee investigated and found that Md. Mohiuddin Arif was picked up by the RAB-4 personnel at around 10:00am on 24/01/2010 and according to GD no.1637 dated 25/010/2010, was handed over to Pallabi PS at 17:05pm on 25/01/2010. But examining the reception procedure of Md. Mohiuddin Arif with two other suspects by the Pallabi PS duty officer Md. Mohsin Ali and the GD describing their stay under PS custody, Md. Mohiuddin Arif was received by the Pallabi PS police at 3:30pm, according to GD no.1718 dated 25/01/2010, time 15:30 hours. Whereas the RAB GD describes that Md. Mohiuddin Arif was handed over to Pallabi PS at around 5:05pm. It is RAB-4 and Pallabi PS who would know better how had it been possible for a single event concerning two parties to have been officially recorded at two different times? Even if it is argued that Pallabi PS mistakenly mentioned the two different times, still it is revealed that Md. Mohiuddin Arif was kept inside RAB-4 custody for more than 30 hours without any legal authority, which is a violation of the law. From the  Pallabi PS records that it had received Md. Mohiuddin Arif on 25/01/2010 afternoon and produced before  court at 9:00am on 26/01/2010, it is evident that Md. Mohiuddin Arif spent more than 16 hours inside Pallabi PS custody.

It is understandable that Pallabi PS did not violate the law because it kept the suspect for around 16 hours (less than 24 hours), but it also appears that Md. Mohiuddin Arif spent more than 46 in the custody of different law enforcing agencies without being produced before the court within the stipulated time, which is a violation of the law. Another evidence of the fact that the three suspects were not arrested on the RAB-mentioned date of 25/01/2010, can be found in column no.2 of the statement of accused Md. Robin given to the Metropolitan Magistrate Md. Mostafa Shahriar Khan on 26/01/2010 under section 164. Metropolitan Magistrate Md. Mostafa Shahriar Khan noted in column no.2 after questioning Md. Robin that Md. Robin was arrested from Mirpur-7 at around 6:00pm on 24/01/2010, was taken to RAB-4 headquarters at 7:00pm on the same day (24/01/2010) and was produced before the court from Pallabi PS on 26/01/2010. Therefore, according to the witnesses’ accounts over the 1st point to be noted, the three accused men were arrested by RAB on 24/01/2010 separately at three different times Md. Mohiuddin Arif was arrested at around 10:00am on 24/01/2010 from his residence and was kept under RAB custody for at least 30 hours.

Point 2 to Be Noted:
About the 2nd point to be noted, Sergeant Biswanath Roy, Lance-Naik Md. Atiqur Rahman and Constable Babul Aktar said in their statements that Md. Mohiuddin Arif injured himself, wounding his knees as a result of falling on the pitch road, as he tried to escape during the raid. It is mentioned in the RAB-4 GD no.1634 dated on 25/01/2010 that all the three accused (who were arrested) received injuries in their hands and legs as a result of scuffling with the RAB personnel in order to evade the arrest. The three accused were taken to Suhrawardy Hospital for medical treatment. It is to be noted that, statements of the RAB personnel and the RAB-4 GD describing the incident provides contradictory information about the injuries of the three accused. Statements of the above-mentioned RAB men only reveal Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s wounded knees, whereas the GD reveals all three accused received wounds in their legs and hands. The GD also reveals that the three accused received medical treatment from Suhrawardy Hospital. Among the accused, doctor’s description of Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s wounds says: “Swelling on both knees. Abrasion over the shins 10“x(½“-1“) both sides”. Examining the description of his wounds, it is found that Md. Mohiuddin Arif had wounds of the size 10“x(½“-1“) below appeared to have been caused by scraping. Is it possible to have abrasions such as the victim’s from scuffling or from falling upon a hard surface?

The committee took the post mortem report of Md. Mohiuddin Arif into consideration where his wounds were described:
“Abrasions found on the (a) anterior aspect of the right leg which lies lateral to the shin of the tibia and 2½ inch below the right knee joint measuring e.g 7½ “x1“ (b) on the anterior aspect of the left leg which is lateral to the shin of the left tibia and 3 inch below from left knee joint measuring 8“x1“ (c) on the dorsal aspect of the middle of the right index finger e.g 1“x¼“ and (d) also in the middle finger e.g 1¼“x¼ “.”
Examining the postmortem report, it is found that Md. Mohiuddin Arif received abrasions of size 7.5/8 inch and width 1 inch at least 2.5/3 inch below his knees, in both the legs. This revelation has similarity  with the observation of emergency doctor of Suhrawardy Hospital who examined Md. Mohiuddin Arif upon admission by RAB.

Further Details of the Wounds Described in the Postmortem Report:
“Bruises found on the (a) right upper thigh to right foot measuring 30“x5“ (b) left upper thigh to left lower thigh e.g 16“x4“, (c) in the right sole measuring 6“x4“, (d) in the left sole measuring 6“x4“, (e) left knee joint to left ankle joint e.g 16“x4“, (f) both shoulder joint 5“x4“, (g) right mid-arm to right elbow joint e.g 6“x3“, (h) right lower forearm to right wrist e.g 10“x3“ and (i) left upper forearm to left wrist joint e.g 10“x3“. Mentioned injuries are ante mortem.”

Examining the description of wounds given in the postmortem report and considering the fact the ‘mentioned injuries are ante mortem’, the question rises that, is it possible to have such major wounds by just falling upon a pitch road? Particular places of injuries like the thigh, wrist, etc. cannot have bruise injury only by someone’s fall on a hard surface. So there is no room to deny that these major wounds were caused from deliberate hitting by some blunt weapon. This is more evident from the medical officer conclusion of the postmortem report stating the following:

“In my opinion, the cause of death was due to shock resulting from above mentioned injuries which were antemortem and homicidal in nature and caused by blunt weapon.”

The medical officer made a clear statement about the cause of Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s death. Md. Mohiuddin Arif was deliberately and severely hit with a blunt weapon and he died as a result of the wounds caused by the hittings. So it refers to an act of murder. The cause of Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s death is from the wounds he received while being hit severely by a blunt weapon. It has been discussed earlier that such wounds cannot be caused by falling on a hard surface. So, how all those wounds were made on Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s body? Members of Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s family and his neighbours could never be the witnesses of how those wounds were made. Since the suspects of the tortures on Md. Mohiuddin Arif are the police and RAB personnel, they did not torture him in front of the mentioned parties related to Md. Mohiuddin Arif. But the accounts of other two accused and some other witnesses, who saw Md. Mohiuddin Arif after RAB personnel brought him to his residence in search of arms, can be taken into consideration.

An accused Md. Delwar Hossain Lablu alias Hablu told the committee that when Lablu was placed in the RAB vehicle, he saw Md. Mohiuddin Arif inside the vehicle. Md. Mohiuddin Arif was trembling from pain at that time. Lablu found Md. Mohiuddin Arif physically ill due to the injuries. Md. Mohiuddin Arif was not able to walk at that time and he had to be assisted by two RAB personnel who grabbed him on his two sides. At night when Lablu was being tortured by the RAB personnel, Md. Mohiuddin Arif too was being tortured inside the office. The torturers were in plain clothes so none of them could be identified by Lablu, except sergeant Biswanath. Biswanath beat up Mohiuddin Arif at night. Due to long hours of beatings carried on Md. Mohiuddin Arif, the RAB personnel could not go to arrest another accused named Billal on 25/01/2010. As Lablu and Md. Mohiuddin Arif were badly wounded due to the torture, the three accused (the other being Md. Robin) were taken to Suhrawardy Hospital for medical treatment. Examining the wounds, doctors at Suhrawardy Hospital asked the RAB men to take the wounded to Pangu Hospital (Hospital for the Disableds). But the accompanying RAB personnel did not take them to the Pangu Hospital, rather returned to RAB-4 headquarters with slips signed by the doctors. At 5:30pm on that day, the three accused were handed over to Pallabi PS with doctor’s slips. On 25/01/2010 deep in the night, at around 1:00am, Pallabi PS OC Md. Iqbal Hossain took the accused to his room and beat Md. Mohiuddin Arif and Lablu with a heavy stick and put the fingers of their hands in a pliers to put pressure and inflict pain. As a result, nails of Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s two fingers of his right hand and a finger of the left hand were fully damaged. Lablu also suffered the same torture on a nail of one of his right hand fingers’, which had to be removed and now the growth of new nail has started.

Another accused Md. Robin, arrested on the same day Arif was arrested, told the committee that he was placed in a red private car after the arrest. The RAB personnel insisted him to tell everything he knew, otherwise he would also face the same consequences as Md. Mohiuddin Arif. RAB personnel showed Md. Robin lifting Arif’s pant up to his knees. The RAB personnel told him, “We will do the same to you as we have done to Arif. Tell us where the looted goods are?” Both Md. Robin and Arif were brought to the RAB office where they were severely tortured. It was in the vehicle where Md. Robin saw the injury marks on Md. Mohiuddin Arif and his swollen knees. After providing medical treatment, they were handed over to Pallabi PS, where they were again tortured during the night. Pliers were used to damage and cause pain to the fingers of their hands. At one stage, Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s right hand finger started to bleed.

Md. Delwar Hossain Lablu alias Hablu and Md. Robin are the only witnesses of the physical tortures carried out on Md. Mohiuddin Arif by RAB and police personnel. Describing the torture, Md. Robin gave his confessional statement on 25/06/2010 while in jail and Md. Delwar Hossain Lablu alias Hablu gave the statement on 24/07/2010 – while out on bail. Both the witnesses gave their statements within a gap of one month. Even then there was no significant difference in their descriptions of the tortures carried out on Md. Mohiuddin Arif under police custody. The severe wounds in their hands particularly in their fingers were caused by the Pallabi PS OC Md. Iqbal Hossain as he tortured them with pliers, but it is assumed that the rest of the injuries were caused by RAB personnel who beat-up the accused with blunt weapons.

Is it possible for someone to be fatally wounded from a simple fall on the road? The question was asked to Sergeant Sri Biswanath Roy, who replied that such fall cannot cause death. Md. Babul Aktar was asked the same question. He was also asked if he saw the wounds of Md. Mohiuddin Arif inside the custody. Md. Babul Aktar told the Committee that Md. Mohiuddin Arif had wounds in his legs and hands. After being asked that were those enough to cause someone’s death, Babul Aktar replied that the wounds he saw could not cause death. Injuries received while someone scuffles to escape arrest, can they cause someone’s death? The question was asked to Lance-Naik Md. Atiqur Rahman, who replied that he could not tell whether it is possible or not.

The committee took note of the fact that even according to RAB personnel, simple fall on the road while scuffling cannot cause one’s death. So the wounds described in the postmortem report were created while Md. Mohiuddin Arif was in the custody of RAB and police. As a result of the wounds, Md. Mohiuddin Arif died.

Md. Ohab Munshi, one of the witnesses to see Md. Mohiuddin Arif when he was brought to his residence by the RAB personnel for recovering arms at the 24/01/2010 evening, told this committee that, Arif looked as if he had been severely beaten. While getting out of the room, Arif could not walk due to severe pain. The RAB personnel had to grab his hands on his two sides to make him walk. He also had to catch hold of the vehicle he was riding in as he could not sit-up by himself. Md. Kamal Hossain, another of the witnesses, told the committee that Arif looked as if he had been severely injured due to which he could not walk by himself and had to be helped by two men on his two sides all the while he walked.

Md. Ramzan told the committee Arif was brought to the Milk Vita Road Mosque market at around 1:00pm on 24/01/2010. He saw Md. Mohiuddin Arif finding it difficult to walk by himself. Md. Giasuddin went to the Milk Vita Road Mosque market to see his brother as he learnt that Md. Mohiuddin Arif was taken there at around 1:00pm on 24/01/2010. He saw that 4 RAB personnel were roaming around the market with Md. Mohiuddin Arif, who could not walk properly at the time.

After Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s death, an on-spot investigation was performed by SI Dabir Uddin of Shahbag PS on 03/02/2010 in the presence of the Executive Magistrate Md. Makbul Hossain, where the following was stated about Arif’s wounds,

“Swelling wounds and bruises have been seen at the joint of the left elbow and also in the wrist. Bruises are seen in the area of his right hand between elbow and wrist. Deep injury marks are visible in the middle finger and index finger of the right hand. Bruises are seen at the right and the left thigh. Bruises also have been found below the knees of both the legs. Swelling wounds are seen below the wrists of both the legs.”

Similarities are found in the description of wounds mentioned in the on-spot investigation report and the postmortem report. So the committee can say that, as per the confessions made by the witnesses questioned by the committee over the concerned issues, it is clear that the death of Md. Mohiuddin Arif was caused by the wounds he received while in the custody of RAB and police. Wounds in other body parts except his fingers and nails are thought to have been created by the RAB personnel while he was in their custody. The Committee also thinks that the injuries to his nails and fingers were caused by the Pallabi PS OC Md. Iqbal Hossain.

3rd Point to Be Noted:
As asked by the committee, senior jail super of Dhaka Central Jail provided the committee with the interim custodial warrant of Md. Mohiuddin Arif, the ticket of his medical treatment inside the central jail, the  memo where it was asked to take Md. Mohiuddin Arif to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for better treatment, his prescriptions given by Dhaka Medical College Hospital on 31/01/2010 and 01/02/2010 and the report of his x-ray that was done by Dhaka Medical College Hospital on 31/01/2010. The committee recorded the statements of the 5 jail guards who were posted on guard as Md. Mohiuddin Arif was brought to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and taken back to the jail again. It is found from examining the interim custodial warrant that, the court of Metropolitan Magistrate sent Md. Mohiuddin Arif to Dhaka Central Jail on 26/01/2010 under the Pallabi PS case no.15(1)201 under section-394 of the penal code. The court ordered the authorities to provide medical treatment to Md. Mohiuddin Arif and also attached the order with the custodial warrant, where the prescription no.829/1 by Suhrawardy Hospital was also attached. Examining the ticket of Md. Mohiuddin Arif at the hospital of Dhaka Central Hospital, it is found that Arif’s roll number inside the jail was 2420/10 who was provided medical treatment on 27/01/2010 with instructions to maintain the given prescription for 2 days (up to 29/01/2010). On 30/01/2010, a new prescription was given with a new set of suggested medicines.

Due to no progress in Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s health from these treatments, it was stated in the jail hospital minutes (memo) no.73/10, “Md. Mohiuddin Arif, the jailed patient, is suffering from the ‘history of physical assault and severe vomiting’. No progress is being seen after providing medical treatment inside the jail. He needs treatment with some medical tests. In the circumstances, he is suggested to be admitted to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) as soon as possible.” According to this minutes (memo) authorized by 4 doctors at the jail hospital, the senior jail super assigned jail guard no.12249 Md. Ismail Hossain and jail guard no.12175 Md. Amirul Islam to take Md. Mohiuddin Arif to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. The duty doctor at DMCH advised to perform x-ray of the patient and named 3 medicines. The doctors instructed to bring the patient to the orthopedic department on 01/02/2010. Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s x-ray was performed on 31/01/2010 and the report was obtained, which states the following:

“Comminuted fracture is noted at Rt. Patella.
  • No other lesion is seen.
  • Left knee joint appear normal.”
At the instructions of DMCH doctors given on 31/01/2010, the authorities of Dhaka Central Jail took Md. Mohiuddin Arif to the orthopedic department of DMCH on the following day posting jail guard no.13325 Md. Jewel and jail guard no.13236 Md. Rokel Mia with him. Duty doctors at the orthopedic department prescribed 4 different medicines, wrote down the required materials for plaster and referred the patient to ward no.24 of the hospital. Though the DMCH doctors fixed 01/02/2010 as the date to provide orthopedic treatment to Md. Mohiuddin Arif, the jail authorities, providing the required materials for plaster, brought Md. Mohiuddin Arif back to the jail from his DMCH ward no.24 without completing the treatment. So, this is how the negligence in Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s treatment started as the jail authority withdrew him from the hospital although the DMCH orthopedic doctors set the date for his treatment. It should be mentioned here that Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s father Md. Abdul Majid was present at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital on that day. Md. Abdul Majid told in his statement, duty doctor of the orthopedic department did not admit his son to the hospital although he was in a very bad shape rather they sent him for plastering. After Md. Mohiuddin Arif was taken for plastering, the persons responsible for plastering refused to plaster and while providing a list of required materials for plastering asked that the patient be brought on 04/02/2010. At that moment, Md. Abdul Majid pursued the authority and wanted to buy the required materials for plastering himself. But the responsible people at DMCH told him that the plastering would be done only after the jail authority provided the required materials. Md. Mahbub Alam Khokon and Md. Yasin Mia, brothers of Md. Mohiuddin Arif, also gave their statements of this incident which support the statement given by Md. Abdul Majid. It is very unfortunate if the only reason behind asking the patient to be brought to DMCH on 04/02/2010 again is not being provided with the required materials for plastering. Examining the DMCH ticket of Md. Mohiuddin Arif where ‘Sat/Mon/Thursday’ was written overleaf, the committee thinks that the patient (Md. Mohiuddin Arif) probably was asked to be brought on Thursday (04/02/2010). If the responsible men for plastering at DMCH would have plastered Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s wounds taking the required materials from Md. Abdul Majid, Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s life could have been saved or his family could have comforted themselves that the proper treatment at doctor’s instructions were provided to Md. Mohiuddin Arif.

Examining the ticket of the jail hospital, it was also found that Md. Mohiuddin Arif went through medical examinations at around 12:00pm on 03/02/2010. The symptoms he had were vomiting tendency, vertigo and chest pain. The doctor recorded this examination, stated, “General condition- poor Pulse- Feeble, B.P.- Not recordable” and instructed to take the patient to Dhaka Medical College Hospital as soon as possible.

At the doctor’s instructions from jail hospital, the jail authorities assigned the jail guard no.12651 Md. Zakir Hossain to take Md. Mohiuddin Arif to DMCH. At the emergency wards of DMCH where Md. Mohiuddin Arif was taken, a duty doctor examined him and issued a death certificate. In the death certificate, duty doctor mentioned the following,

“The patient was brought dead to the emergency wards of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. The dead body has been sent to morgue for postmortem. Further details will unearth after the postmortem. It is a police case.

(Signed)

03/02/2010
Medical Officer
Emergency
DMCH, Dhaka.”

This is how the life of Md. Mohiuddin Arif came to an end.

Conclusion:
According to the complaints made by the Asian Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) and other international organisations working on human rights and a news report in Daily Karatoa on 05/01/2010 with headline “র‌্যাবের পিটুনিতে আহত এ্যপোলো হাসপাতালের টেকনিশিয়ানের মৃত্যু” (RAB Beats Apollo Hospital Technician To Death), the committee finds as a result of the investigation that the RAB personnel Sergeant Sri Biswanath Roy, Lance-Naik Md. Atiqur Rahman and Constable Md. Babul Aktar did not arrest Md. Mohiuddin Arif, accused of the Pallabi PS case no.15(1)2010 under section-7 of the penal code at 10:30am on 25/01/2010 from Md. Robin’s scrap shop at Jhilpar slum at section-7 of Mirpur. Md. Mohiuddin Arif was in fact arrested by plain clothed RAB personnel on 24/01/2010, on the day of Ijtema prayers in the morning from Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s residence at house no. 928, road no.5, secion-7 at Pallabi, Mirpur, Dhaka, and taken to RAB-4 headquarters, where RAB personnel did not record the arrest to have taken place on 24/01/2010, rather kept the detainee for more than 36 hours clearly in breach of the laws of Bangladesh. In their custody, Md. Mohiuddin Arif was physically tortured. Md. Mohiuddin Arif was handed over to Pallabi PS on 25/01/2010 in the evening, where the officer in-charge (OC) used a pliers to smash the fingers of Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s hands. Taking the confessional statements of the witnesses into consideration, the committee thinks that Md. Mohiuddin Arif’s death was caused by the physical tortures he endured while he was under the custody of RAB and police. The committee also thinks that the parties responsible for his better medical treatment – the duty doctors of Dhaka Medical College Hospital and the jail hospital, should have acted more sincerely and responsibly to provide proper medical attention to the injured patient. It is necessary to bring those responsible for such acts before the law.

Suggestions:
1. To avoid such unfortunate incidents, experienced law enforcers should be assigned as leaders of such raids to arrest the accused people. Beside this, the RAB authority and the concerned management have to be careful so that no RAB working at the field level can get involved in any unlawful activity or behavior.

2. The custom of arresting anyone in the name of interrogation by plain clothed RAB personnel should be stopped. Otherwise it can encourage the outlaws to harass people in the name of interrogation posing as RAB personnel.

3. It has to be confirmed that all necessary and related information about an arrest would be recorded immediately after the arrest is made.

4. In order to unearth the facts behind a criminal offense, the interrogation process should be executed with due respect to the law.

5. To ensure proper medical treatment of the prisoners and arrested men, the concerned medical authorities will have to ensure proper supply of medicines, necessary medical equipments and materials and will have to show more sincerity and responsibility to ensure proper medical attention to those prisoners which they deserve as human beings.

6. To ensure peoples’ confidence on RAB activities, side by side with adequate publicity if any person is harmed/illegally attacked or some constitutional rights of a citizen is hampered – then through legal measures exemplary punishment to the accused should be ensured.

Source:http://networkedblogs.com/b2sS2

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