Police assertions that a man from Khulna had his eyes gouged out in a mob lynching have been contested by the victim, who claims it was the police themselves who committed the barbaric act.
Addressing the press on Sunday, Shahjalal said Khalishpur police claimed he was subjected to rough mob justice after he was caught robbing. The police also said their timely arrival had saved Shahjalal from an even worse fate.
However, the police statement was strongly contested by Shahjalal and his wife, Rahela Begum, who maintain that the police picked him up and demanded a ransom. Upon refusing, the officers gouged out his eyes with a wrench.
“I was picked up from Goalkhali Circle and taken to the police station, where I was thrashed mercilessly in the lockup in two arduous sessions,” Shahjalal said.
When his mother and wife failed to meet the illicit Tk1.5 lakh ransom demands of the police, Shahjalal said he was taken out of the police station under the pretence of receiving medical treatment.
Instead, he was driven past Abu Naser Hospital and taken to a secluded spot.
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“They tied my hands behind my back and stuffed a handkerchief in my mouth. Terrified, I believed my life was over. I began to pray and beg for my life,” Shahjalal said.
“Nasim Khan, the officer-in-charge of the station, squatted on my chest and began choking me. Sub-Inspector Taposh held my head down firmly. I saw Sub-Inspector Selim lean over my face with a wrench with which he ripped out my eyes. These were the last things I saw with my own eyes.”
Shahjalal told the press that he and his family were living in fear of further police oppression. His family said the police are regularly harassing and threatening them, demanding that they withdraw the case.
He claimed police had proposed to bear the expenses of fixing one of his eyes, only to withdraw the offer later.
“If police did not erase the CCTV footage from the station on that night, anyone can verify the truth. Even the other inmates in the lockup can vouch for what happened in the station,” Shahjalal said.
Rahela Begum - Shahjalal’s wife - said she had travelled to Khulna from Dhaka in early September to press charges.
“Some locals invited me to an MP’s house in Daulatpur, Khulna, where I was told not to file a case,” she said.
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Rahela said Shahjalal was promised a job and Tk6 lakh. “When I refused, I was further intimidated.”
On September 7, Shahjalal’s mother, Renu Begum, filed a case with Khulna Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court accusing eight policemen, three Ansar members and two other people.
The court assigned the case to the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) and a hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, October 18.
The accused are Officer-in-Charge of Khalishpur police station, Nasim Khan; Sub-Inspectors Russel, Tapash Roy, Morselim Molla, Mizan, Mamun, and Nur Islam; assistant Sub-Inspector Syed Saheb Ali; Ansar soldiers Afsar Ali, Lance Nayek Abul Hossain and Naik Rezaul; Suma Aktar, a resident of Jessore Road in Khalishpur; and Russel, the son of Lutfar Hawladar of Badamtala area.
Rights activist advocate Mominul Islam said the police had filed a chargesheet accusing Shahjalal of mugging. Shahjalal was granted bail while hospitalised with his injuries.
Local leaders demanded the police ensure the safety of Shahjalal’s family, who can now barely make ends meet.
