Kurigram DC to be withdrawn: minister
Injured journalist Ariful Islam Regan after being released from jail on Sunday said that Kurigram revenue deputy collector Nazim Uddin tortured him at the deputy commissioner’s office after detaining him from his home at dead of night.
Ariful, Kurigram correspondent of online portal Bangla Tribunue, was released from jail without any application at 11:00am on Sunday. The ‘mobile court’ led by Nazim detained Ariful raiding his house on Friday night and took him to the deputy commissioner’s office and then sent him to jail convicting him for one year jail term.
The incident triggered widespread condemnation and journalists said it was happened apparently for reporting on corruption against the district administration.
State minister for public administration Farhad Hossain told reporters at office on Sunday that Kurigram deputy commissioner Sultana Pervin would be withdrawn and departmental proceedings would be initiated against her for ‘tarnishing the government’s image and making the mobile court controversial.’
He also said that the allegation of conducting mobile court at midnight was found well-grounded in primary investigation and as their supervisor the responsibility also lies on the deputy commissioner.
Related Coverage:
He also said that further investigation would be done to determine the specific role of officials concerned in operating the mobile court and punitive measures would be ensured against all those responsible.
The High Court, meanwhile, on Sunday wanted to know the offence for which Ariful Islam was
sentenced to one-year imprisonment.
The bench of Justice Md Ashraful Kamal and Justice Sardar Md Rashed Jahangir also asked the government to inform it by Monday whether the arrest and jail sentence of Ariful was legal.
The bench issued verbal directive seeking the information from the authorities while hearing a writ petition filed by Harun Ur Rashid, executive editor of Bangla Tribune.
The bench set today for passing order on the issue.
The Editors’ Council in a statement demanded withdrawal of a case filed against journalist Ariful Islam. The council also demanded withdrawal of Kurigram deputy commissioner Sultana Pervin and take departmental action against her.
After releasing from jail at about 11:00am, journalist Ariful Islam Regan was rushed to the Kurigram General Hospital with bruises all over his body.
The hospital superintendent Abu Muhammad Zakirul Islam said that the journalist was admitted with marks of injures.
Afirul at the hospital told journalists that Nazim and others broke into his house midnight past Friday and Nazim began punching him in the face.
‘I was repeatedly asking him what my fault was. I even said if I made anything wrong, I beg apology for this. I said I did not commit any crime’.
‘The RDC then said, “You have become a star journalist! Let me give you a lesson as you write against the DC. He whisked me onto a vehicle and asked his team to handcuff and blindfold me. He said then said, “It is the last day in your life. You will be put on encounter”. I was extremely upset and I thought they really want to kill me. Then, I started crying and begged pardon’,’ said Ariful.
Ariful said that he was taken to the bank of river Karma and then the RDC asked him to recite kalima. ‘I started calling Allah. I was saying Allah, save me,’
‘Nazim then asked someone to call the DC sir…I was later taken to a room at the DC office blindfolded. They started torturing me. They kicked me on my chest and then beat with baton. On leg, back, hand…’
‘They filmed me stripping me off and took my signature on four places. I do not know where I put my signature,’ he said.
As one of them told Nazim that patrol police arrived, he said police could not compete with them, he said, then they took him to somewhere else.
As they took off Ariful’s blindfold, he found him at the jail gate.
‘Nazim asked me there whether I had called the police station. I replied yes I called as you said you came from police station. Then he ordered the jail officials put me in jail for a month and not to give me any medication,’ he said.
Executive magistrate Rintu Bikash Chakma on Saturday said that a taskforce comprising the police, Ansar and the narcotics control directorate carried out the raid based on specific allegations and jailed the journalist for one year and fined him Tk 50,000.
Kurigram deputy commissioner Sultana Pervin also denied allegations against her and claimed it was not related to any report.
Socio-political and human rights organization continued their protest since Saturday.
The Human Rights Forum Bangladesh in a statement protested the conviction awarded by the mobile court.
News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net
