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A court has indicted six people, including five policemen, in the death of Sylhet-resident Raihan Ahmed at the Bandar Bazar police outpost in 2020.
Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Abdur Rahim framed charges against the accused on Monday, paving the way for the commencement of trial proceedings in the much-discussed case, reports bdnews24.com.
The court will begin hearing witness testimonies on May 10, according to Public Prosecutor Nawshad Ahmed Chowdhury.
The accused are sub-inspectors Akbar Hossain Bhuiyan and Hasan Uddin, assistant sub-inspector Ashek Elahi, constables Titu Chandra Das and Harun Ur Rashid and 'journalist' Abdullah Al Noman, who is currently on the run.
SI Akbar, who was in charge of the outpost at the time, and the other policemen are accused of torturing Raihan. Meanwhile, Noman is charged with abetting the others by concealing CCTV footage of the incident.
The Police Bureau of Investigation's Inspector Awlad Hossain, the investigating officer of the case, produced the five policemen in court on Sunday and filed the charge sheet.
According to the charge sheet, Raihan was detained by the policemen, who were on duty at the Bandar Bazar outpost, from the city's Kastoghar around midnight on Oct 10. He died at the Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital the next morning.
Raihan's family alleged that his death was the result of police brutality.
On Oct 11, Raihan's wife Tahmina Akhter filed a case under the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act.
A preliminary investigation by the Sylhet Metropolitan Police confirmed that he died in the custody of the police at the outpost. An autopsy later revealed that there were 111 injury marks on Raihan’s body.
The state has named 69 witnesses in the charge sheet, according to PP Nawshad. Statements from 10 of the witnesses have already been recorded under section 164 of the Penal Code.
Raihan’s family expressed satisfaction over the start of the trial.
“We won’t get Raihan back but at least we will feel a little satisfaction if justice is done,” said Salma Begum, Raihan’s mother.