TANGAIL KILLING : Police prosecute 1,000 villagers

The death toll from Friday’s police firing on protesters against sexual harassment of a woman in Tangail reached at four as another victim succumbed to bullet injuries on Sunday, while police field two murder cases against 1,000 villagers on Saturday night.
Three people were killed and two sustained grievous bullet injuries as police fired live bullets on youths, who were protesting against alleged sexual harassment of a woman in front of his son, near Kalihati bus stop on Tangail-Mymensingh Highway at Kalihati upazila in Tangail on Friday.
The injured – Rubel Hossain and Badsha – were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital being referred by Tangail Medical College Hospital.
Rubel, 20, died at the hospital on Sunday evening taking to four the death toll from the police firing.
Police sub-inspector Musharraf Hossain field a case with Kalihati police station on Saturday night accusing 400 unnamed people of killing people, injuring other, obstructing cops from discharging their duties.
Sub-inspector Mohammad Omar Faruk filed the other case with Ghatail police station against some 600 unnamed people on the same accusation.
The police claimed that the victims got killed and injured in clashes between the protesters and followers of a local influential, who allegedly tortured a woman stripping of her clothes in front of her son on allegation that his wife and the woman’s son had eloped.
Asked why the villagers were prosecuted for the deaths in police firing, Tangail Tangail acting superintendent of police Sanjay Sarker said, ‘I cannot comment on the cases until administrative inquires are done.’
Tangail deputy commissioner Mahbub Hossain said that they launched an administrative inquiry led by additional district magistrate to dig out the fact.
Asked how it would be possible for the witnesses to testify against cops blamed for killings, Mahbub claimed that the probe body would definitely reach the witnesses in absence of law enforcers.
The post-mortem examinations of three victims – Faruk Hossain, Shyamal Chnadra Pal and Shameem – were conducted at Tangail Medical College Hospital morgue on Saturday morning.
‘Although we are not bullet expert, but police opined that the bullets were from their guns,’ said one physician at the hospital.
A 3-member probe body headed by additional deputy inspector general (discipline and professional standard) Alamgir Alam, formed by the police headquarters on Saturday, began inquiry into the incident on Sunday.
‘We are already in Tangail and we have started our inquiry,’ Alamgir told New Age on Sunday evening.
Condemnation from political organisations continued as they demand an independent inquiry into the killings.
Samajik Protirodh Committee demanded immediate proper action against the perpetrators.
Local people alleged that Rafiqul Islam Roma along with his brother-in-law Hafizuddin and others forcibly picked up a day labour of Ghatail upazila and his mother to Rafiqul’s house at Satulia of Kalihati on September 15 and tortured them stripping of her clothes in front of her son on allegation that Rafiqul’s wife had eloped with the day labour.

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