A case has been filed against the officer-in-charge (OC), sub-inspector and some unidentified policemen of Panchlaish police station in Chittagong.
The case was filed in the court of Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge Begum Zebunnesa Monday afternoon, said Monir Haque Sarkar, bench assistant of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court.
The accused in the case are Officer-in-Charge (OC) Nazimuddin Majumder, Sub Inspector Abdul Aziz, and some unidentified policemen of Panchlaish police station in Chittagong city.
Earlier, Syed Mohammad Mustakim filed the complaint as plaintiff, alleging assault in police custody after being arrested while protesting the hike in dialysis fees at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH).
According to court documents, Mostakim has been paying for his mother's dialysis at CMCH with his tuition money for the past seven years. The dialysis charge was initially Tk450, but it was raised to Tk510 in December, 2022.
His mother's dialysis charge jumped to Tk2,935 on January 6, 2023.
Mostakim conducted a peaceful human chain in protest at the time. However, after being chased by Ansar members, he returned from the hospital.
Later, on January 10, while Mostakim's mother returned for dialysis, he discovered that the charge had not been lowered.
Meanwhile, families of other patients formed a peaceful human chain in front of the hospital's main entrance. The Panchlaish police station OC, along with four or five other policemen, assaulted Mostakim and others who were in a human chain. Meanwhile, the OC also kicked Mustakim's mother.
The OC then took Mostakim to the Epic Healthcare reception opposite the main gate of CMCH.
Later, he was dragged from there and taken to the police station. The floor below the police station leads to a secluded room with no CCTV cameras. He was harassed by various questions, including one asking the reason for the human chain.
At the time, OC Nazimuddin said: “He should be brought to the police station and beaten. Then you will understand what the police are”
Meanwhile, Advocate Zia Habib Ahsan, counsel for the Bangladesh Human Rights Foundation, that supported Mostakim, said that following his arrest, Sub Inspector (SI) Aziz hit him with a long stick in various places of his body on the instructions of the OC. He experienced bloody swellings on various parts of his body as a result of the beating.
Moreover, SI Aziz used a stick to strike Mostakim's genital area. He stopped urinating and experienced genital bleeding for the following two days. Also, SI Aziz hit him when Mostakim placed his hand on the sore site as a result of the beating. His hand swelled three inches in surface area and became paralyzed. If the beating was disclosed to anybody, SI Aziz threatened crossfire.
When Mostakim mentioned he was a member of the “Gausia Committee” during the beating, the SI referred to him as a militant. Following the assault, police brought him to CMCH Hospital. He was not permitted to take medication, despite the fact that he had purchased it on the doctor's instructions.
"On Monday afternoon, we filed a complaint in court, and at the same time, we submitted an application in court demanding security for the plaintiff Mostakim in the case. During the hearing, the court directed the Crime Investigation Department (CID) to conduct an investigation by March 27," said advocate Zia Habib Ahsan.
