Father of Rajon, the teen who was beaten to death in Sylhet last week, has blamed two officials of Jalalabad police station for taking bribes to help one of the suspects – Kamrul Islam – to flee to Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, police have arrested Moyna Mia, one of the accused in the killing case, in the Sylhet city and closed Jalalabad police station Sub-Inspector Aminul Islam for misbehaving with Rajon’s father and helping Kamrul flee.
Rahmant Ullah, an ADC of the Sylhet Metropolitan Police, told the Dhaka Tribune that SI Aminul had been instructed to report to the deputy police commissioner’s office.
He also said that Moyna Mia, a security guard by profession, had been arrested in the Tukerbazar area of the Sylhet city around 10pm yesterday.
However, according to local sources, he was in hiding at a relative’s house in Pirpur, a neighbouring village to his home in Kumargaon. After yesterday’s Taraweeh prayers, some villagers got hold of him and handed him over to police.
At that time, an angry mob reportedly tried to beat up Moyna, but police stopped them and took him to the Jalalabad police station. When this report was being filed around 11pm yesterday, a big crowd had gathered in front of the police station.
The bribery
Sheikh Azizur Rahman, the father, said when he went to file a case for the murder of his son, Kamrul’s family offered him Tk5 lakh to settle the issue without pursuing any legal action.
Azizur added that when he first went to Jalalabad police station around 10pm last Wednesday, he found OC (investigation) Alamgir Hossain and SI Aminul Islam holding a private meeting with the accused.
He claimed that the men reached an agreement on allowing Kamrul to flee abroad and letting the already arrested Muhit Alam walk free.
When Rajon’s relatives tried to enter the OC’s room, SI Aminul behaved rudely with them and forced them out of the station, Azizur added.
However, locals laid siege to the police station to force the police to keep Muhit in custody; Kamrul, on the other hand, escaped detention by fleeing to Saudi Arabia.
The Dhaka Tribune tried to contact Alamgir – also the investigation officer of the case – and Aminul, but found their mobile phones switched off.
When asked, the station’s Officer-in-Charge Akhtar Hossain said he was not aware of any secret dealings as he was away at the time to testify in a case in Chittagong.
Sylhet Metropolitan Police ADC (media) Rahmat Ullah said they have been notified about how a suspect was allowed to flee with the help of the police and how the Jalalabad police had misbehaved with Rajon’s family.
A three-member probe committee, led by SMP Additional Commissioner SM Rokon Uddin, has been formed to look into the allegations and told to submit their report within three days, he added.
Sheikh Samiul Alam Rajon, 13, was tortured to death by a group of men at Kumargaon on the outskirts of Sylhet city around 7:30am last Wednesday.
A 28-minute video, recorded on a mobile phone camera and later uploaded to social media platforms, showed the victim tied to a pole in front of a workshop. From the video, it seemed there were five to six men who took part in the barbaric torture.
Two detained witnesses – Azmat Ullah and Firoze Ali – submitted confessional statements before the court of Sylhet Metropolitan Magistrate Shahedul Karim yesterday. The magistrate later sent the men to jail.
Controversies and protests
Meanwhile, there have been controversies surrounding Jalalabad police’s quick filing of a murder case, in which the initial plaintiff SI Aminul mentioned that an unidentified person had been beaten to death on July 8 while trying to steal a van.
Locals claimed that the case was filed in haste in order to protect the culprits behind the gruesome act, by mentioning the victim – Rajon – as a thief.
On the other hand, sources said the police had turned away Rajon’s family when they went to the station to file a case with named defendants, while the two police officials in question also berated Rajon’s father by calling him “the father of a thief.”
However, the next day, Rajon’s father was made the case plaintiff and his statement was recorded by the police as a supplement to the original FIR.
In the murder case, Muhit was listed as the prime accused, while his brother Kamrul Islam, 24, and their accomplices Ali Haider, 34, and guard Moyna Miah, 45, were charged with murder as well.
Locals continued their demonstrations yesterday, demanding justice for the death of Rajon. A rally was staged in the city’s Temukhi Point in the afternoon, where speakers also demanded that the police officials concerned be closed for their negligence.
Protests were also held in the capital, where different organisations demonstrated in front of the National Press Club to demand justice for Rajon’s brutal murder.
Kendrio Khelaghar Ashor formed a human chain there demanding that the killers of Rajon be tried under a special tribunal. Other children’s rights platforms including Shishuder Jonnyo Foundation as well as several left-leaning organisations also formed human chains on similar demands.
In a different development, Rajon’s father Sheikh Azizur was admitted to the CCU of Osmani Medical College Hospital yesterday after he started feeling chest pains.
The registrar of the medical college, Dr Rezaul Islam Monayem, told the Dhaka Tribune that ECG reports of Azizur were normal so far, but doctors are still keeping him under constant observation.