Former Chittagong Superintendent of Police (SP) Babul Akter, accused in the murder of his wife, has appealed to the court seeking safety for his life in prison alleging that his jail cell in Feni was searched illegally.
Babul’s lawyer Golam Mawla Murad on Monday filed the petition with Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge Jebunnessa Begum.
The court accepted the petition but did not pass any order, said Golam Mawla Murad.
According to the petition, the accused have become aggressive since Babul Akter filed a case against six officials of the Police Bureau of Investigations (PBI) including its chief Banaj Kumar Majumder under Section 15 (1) and Section 5 (2) of the Torture and Custodial Deaths (Prevention) Act, 2013.
Babul alleged that breaching the code of conduct, OC Nizam Uddin of Feni Model police station on September 10 entered his cell with intent to harm and intimidate Babul following the instructions of the suspects named in that case.
Babul’s counsel Golam Mawla Murad said Feni Model police station OC Nizam Uddin searched Babul’s cell on September 10 with the intent of causing him mental stress.
“On September 10 at 12pm OC Nizam Uddin went to Feni jail and searched Babul’s cell for a long time. According to jail code, it is a punishable offence for a police officer appointed with a police station to enter jail and search a prisoner’s cell without permission from district magistrate or court,” he added.
According to Babul’s lawyer the search was done to keep his client under mental pressure as on September 8 he lodged a complaint against six PBI officials.
Babul, who is now in jail in a case over the killing of his wife Mahmuda Khanam Mitu, on Thursday lodged a complaint before a court against six officials of PBI including PBI Chief Banaj Kumar Majumder for torturing and attempting to kill him in police custody.
Advocate Habibur Rahman Labu lodged the complaint against Banaj Kumar Majumder, PBI chief, Md Nazmul Hasan, SP Chittagong district PBI, Naima Sultana, SP Chittagong city PBI, Santosh Kumar Chakma, former police inspector of Chittagong city PBI and current OC of Khulshi police station of CMP, AKM Mohiuddin Salim, former Inspector of Chittagong District PBI and current assistant commissioner CMP Detective Branch and Kazi Enayet Kabir, inspector of Chittagong District PBI.
Unidentified assailants gunned down Babul’s wife Mitu at the port city’s GEC intersection on June 5, 2016, while she was going to drop her son for a bus of Chittagong Cantonment Public School and College.
Soon after the crime, Babul filed a murder case at Panchlaish police station against three unidentified men. The case was transferred to the Police Bureau Investigation (PBI) in 2019 after Mitu’s father, himself a retired police officer, filed a complaint against the CMP’s mishandling of the case.
On May 12, 2021, the PBI submitted its final report and arrested Babul Akter in another case filed by Mitu’s father and since then he has been in prison.