Amin Khan, 45, died while undergoing treatment at the Al-Karim Drug Addiction Treatment Centre in West Khabaspur, Faridpur, on Sunday, with his family accusing the rehabilitation center authorities of abuse and murder.
The rehabilitation center authorities informed Amin’s family of his death on Sunday.
Amin was the son of Lokman Khan of Cholna village in Boalmari upazila of Faridpur. He was the father of 2 children and had lived in Malaysia for a long time.
After returning to Bangladesh, he operated a press business named “Amin Khan Traders” at Boalmari Bazar.
According to family sources, Amin had recently shown some mental and behavioral abnormalities and was admitted to the Al-Karim Drug Addiction Treatment Centre around 10-12 days ago.
After learning of his death, his relatives went to Faridpur Medical College Hospital and found deep rope marks on both his hands and legs. They also saw that his body had turned yellow.
Amin’s brother, Rabiul Khan, alleged that the rehabilitation center authorities had given inconsistent accounts of the cause of death from the beginning.
He said that despite the rope marks on Amin’s body, the doctor on duty at the hospital prepared a general death report without specifying a definite cause.
According to the allegation, Mizanur Rahman, a representative of the rehabilitation center who was present at the time of the incident, went alone to the police station without informing the family after saying he would show them closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.
Later, the relatives went to the rehabilitation center and watched the CCTV footage. They said they saw Amin’s hands and legs tied and that he was being pressed down late at night before his death.
They alleged that Amin sweated heavily during the incident. When they asked to watch the complete footage, the rehabilitation center authorities did not show it and left the CCTV room.
Mustafa Kamal, chairman of the Al-Karim Drug Addiction Treatment Centre, denied the relatives’ allegations.
He said: “The deceased Amin Khan was disturbing or bothering other patients in various ways while they were sleeping at night. Towards the morning, he suddenly fell ill. He was initially treated at the rehabilitation center, but when his condition deteriorated, he was quickly taken to hospital. He died there while undergoing treatment.”
The relatives claimed that Amin’s death was not natural and that he died due to physical abuse and torture at the rehabilitation center.
They demanded a proper investigation into the incident and exemplary punishment for those involved under the law.
No statement was available from the Faridpur Medical College authorities on the matter.