Another constable suspended over militants’ escape in Dhaka

Another police constable has been suspended over the escape of two militants on death row from the court area in Dhaka.

The suspended policeman, Nure Azad, was escorting four militant convicts all by himself last week when they suddenly sprayed some chemicals in his eyes, reports bdnews24.com.

Two of the convicts were whisked away by their cohorts. Azad was able to restrain the two others as their associates attacked other policemen as well. The attackers also hit him with some heavy objects in the face.

Jasim Uddin, a deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, on Sunday said Azad joined duty on Nov 19, the day before the incident, while four other policemen were supposed to accompany him during the escort.

Constable Azad was suspended as police were investigating why he was escorting the convicts all by himself, Jasim said.

So far, seven members of the force have been suspended over the incident.

The other policemen taken off duty are Inspector Matiur Rahman, Sub-Inspector Nahidur Rahman, Assistant Tow SI Mohiuddin, and constables Sharif Hasan, Abdus Sattar and Joynal, who were tasked with escorting the convicts to court.

On Nov 20, Moinul Hasan Shamim alias Samir and Abu Siddique Sohel alias Shakib were snatched away from police custody on their way back to a lockup after testifying in a case.

Shamim and Sohel, both leaders of the outlawed militant outfit Ansar Al Islam, were sentenced to death over their involvement in the killings of writer-blogger Avijit Roy and publisher Faysal Arefin Dipan.

In the wake of the incident, a case was filed while Dhaka Metropolitan Police formed a five-strong committee to find out what caused it and a Tk 2.0 million reward was announced for information leading to the capture of the runaway convicts. A red alert was also issued across the country.