“Whom will we four sisters call father now? My father was a very good man—tortured and killed,” said Tasfia Akhter, the eldest daughter of Jubo Dal leader Md Touhidul Islam.
Since losing him, the four sisters have been inconsolable, knowing they will never see their father again. Tasfia continued: “We have become orphans, and we want justice for his killers.”
Reports confirm that Md Touhidul Islam, 40, died after being detained by joint forces in Comilla late at night. Family members claim he succumbed to inhuman torture, with doctors and relatives noting visible marks of abuse on his body.
Standing near her husband's funeral car at the Comilla Press Club, Yasmin Nahar tearfully asked: “If the law is equal for everyone, then why can’t we get justice?” Adding to her grief, she said, “The army took away my husband without any crime, and he was then killed by inhuman torture. I demand justice for his murder and for the orphaning of my innocent daughters.”
Touhidul Islam, the convener of Panchthubi Union Jubo Dal in Comilla Adarsh Sadarsha Upazila and a resident of Italla village, had previously worked as a shipping agent at Chittagong Port.
Family members noted that he returned home on Sunday upon hearing of his father, Mokhlesur Rahman’s, death, with the funeral scheduled for Friday.
His mother had died about 20 years ago; he is survived by his wife and four daughters.
Touhidul Islam’s brother, Sadequr Rahman, provided a detailed account to the Dhaka Tribune. “My brother had been brutally tortured to death,” he said.
“He was beaten from his waist down, leaving black, swollen wounds on his stomach, chest, back, legs, and throat.”
He recounted further: “My father died on January 26 (Sunday), and Touhidul came home from Chittagong that same day. While we were preparing for my father’s funeral on Thursday night, around 2:30am, army members arrived at our house—not accompanied by police but five young men in white. They arrested Touhidul, confiscated our mobile phones, and searched our home extensively without finding anything. When we asked why he was being arrested, they only demanded to know the location of any weapons. They then took him away in their car. On Friday morning, more soldiers came and searched the house again.”
Sadequr Rahman added: “At about 12:15pm on Friday, Sub-Inspector Morshed Alam from the Comilla Kotwali Model police station contacted us through an intermediary and informed us that Touhidul’s condition was critical. We rushed him to Comilla Medical College Hospital, but upon arrival, we found that he had already passed away.”
No case, no GD reported
Moinul Islam, OC of Kotwali Model police station, Comilla, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have handed over the body. No case or complaint has been filed by the family yet. There were dark marks on his body; however, we will know how he died after the autopsy report.”
He added: “We are not going to conduct any further investigation at this time. However, we will be able to proceed with the investigation of this incident after receiving the autopsy report.”
Meanwhile, Comilla Additional Superintendent of Police (Sadar Circle) Mohammad Saiful Malik said that on Friday around 11am, the army asked the police to take Touhidul Islam into custody. When he was handed over to the police, he was unconscious.
Later, after being taken to the hospital, the doctor declared him dead. “It is not possible to say why he was detained or how he died at this moment. We are trying to find out the details of the matter. The real cause of death will be known in the autopsy report,” Malik said.
A police officer noted that after an initial investigation, no case information was found against Touhidul.
Tanvir Ahmed, a doctor in the emergency department of Comilla Medical College Hospital, said: “Police brought Touhidul Islam to the emergency department around noon on Friday. After tests, it was found that he had died before being brought to the hospital. There were injury marks on various parts of his body.”
However, Anwar Hossain, the convener of the Comilla South District Jubo Dal, said that a complaint has been filed with the police station on behalf of the family regarding the murder.
When asked for a copy of the General Diary (GD), the police did not provide one.
Anwar alleged that Awami League members were involved in this conspiracy and committed the murder by making false allegations.
Touhidul Islam’s brother, Sadequr Rahman, said that there is not even a GD file at the police station.
He mentioned that a dispute over land with a neighboring family might have led to false allegations against Touhidul, with some claiming he had weapons.
“Because of this, they detained my brother, tortured him, and killed him,” he claimed.
Touhidul Islam's elder brother, Abul Kalam Azad, added: “When the members of the joint forces searched our house, they kept asking, ‘Where are the weapons? Where did we give them weapons?’ They tortured and killed my brother based on baseless information.”
Government orders swift investigation
The government has ordered a speedy investigation into the death of Jubo Dal leader Md Touhidul Islam in Comilla while in the custody of security forces.
The government's directive was announced in a statement by the Chief Adviser's Press Wing on Saturday.
The statement said that the interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus strongly condemns any form of torture and killing in the custody of the security forces.
One of the main goals of this government is to ensure the protection of human rights in every aspect of national life, where the country's top human rights activists are in the government's advisory council.
The press wing statement also said that in the wake of allegations of torture in the custody of the security forces, Touhidul Islam was taken to the hospital in Comilla late on Thursday night with injuries.
According to the allegations, he was tortured by the security forces after being arrested from his house in the early hours of that day.
The government has already formed several commissions to reform the judicial process for such crimes in the country.
Most of these commissions have submitted their reports.
The government will hold constructive dialogue with political parties to eliminate all opportunities for human rights violations in police interrogation, crime management and judicial processes, the Press Wing said.
Camp commander withdrawn after death
A probe committee has been formed following the death of Md Touhidul Islam.
An army camp commander has been withdrawn following his death, according to ISPR.
According to a press release issued by ISPR on Saturday, joint forces conducted an operation and detained a man named Md Touhidur Rahman, 40, on Friday, at around 3am.
“Later the same day, at around 12:30pm, he passed away at Comilla Medical College Hospital,” the PR added.
ISPR mentioned that the authorities have taken necessary measures to ensure a proper investigation into the incident.
“The commander of the concerned army camp has already been withdrawn. Additionally, a high-level probe committee has been formed to determine the exact cause of death,” it added.
It has been assured that if anyone is found guilty in the investigation, appropriate legal action will be taken under military law.
Human chain formed by leaving a hearse
After the autopsy at the Comilla Medical College morgue, relatives brought Touhidul's body home around 8pm on Friday.
He was buried at the family graveyard after the funeral on Saturday afternoon.
On Saturday morning, Touhidul's frozen body was placed in a freezer ambulance in the village of Italla.
Relatives and locals have gathered at Touhidul's house to see him for the last time.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people held a human chain program by leaving a funeral car on the road in Italla village around 10am.
Locals claimed that the Jubo leader was picked up and “brutally killed.”
Touhidul's wife also participated in the program with her four daughters.
Later, another human chain program was held in front of the Comilla Press Club around 12:30pm with a hearse in front.
Villagers, including Touhidul's family members, participated in the human chain that lasted until 1pm.
Local resident Fazlur Rahman said: "They took a good man and killed him. We cannot accept this at all. We want a fair investigation and trial of this incident. We will demand justice for the murder."
Our Comilla correspondent Md Mahasin Kabir contributed to this report
