Eight police personnel, including two sub-inspectors, were suspended on Wednesday night for alleged negligence during the lynching of two men in Taraganj upazila of Rangpur district on Saturday.
Rangpur Superintendent of Police Abu Saim confirmed that the suspended officers were part of the mobile team deployed to the area at the time of the incident.
Those suspended include Taraganj police station sub-inspectors Abu Zobayer and Shafiqul Islam and constables Farikud Akhtar Zaman, Dhiraj Kumar Roy, Hasan Ali, Firoz Kabir, Moktar Hossain and Babul Chandra Roy.
SP Saim also said that SI Abu Zobayer, who was the investigating officer (IO) in the case, has been relieved of his duties.
Inspector (Investigation) Rafiqul Islam has been appointed as the new IO.
On Saturday, Ruplal Das, a father-in-law, and his nephew-in-law Pradip Das were beaten to death by a mob around 9:30pm on the Taraganj-Kazirhat road in Bottola after being suspected of theft.
Locals said Ruplal’s eldest daughter, Nupur Das, was engaged to Dipzol Das from Shyampur in Mithapukur upazila.
Pradip Das was traveling by van from Mithapukur to finalize the marriage date.
Confused over the route in Taraganj, he contacted Ruplal, who joined him and they proceeded toward Ghanirampur village by rickshaw van.
Around 9pm in Bottola, villagers detained them on suspicion of theft.
Four small plastic bottles were discovered in the van, one of which emitted a strong odor that caused two men, Alamgir Hossain and Mehedi Hasan, to feel unwell.
The situation escalated and the mob attacked and beat the duo to death.
Two separate cases have been filed in connection with the incident and several individuals have been arrested so far.
Authorities continue to investigate the lynching and the alleged negligence of the police at the scene.
