Accused on remand ‘commits suicide’ in Uttara East Police Station

An accused in a drug case has allegedly committed suicide while on remand in the city's Uttara East Police Station on Tuesday.

Police claimed the accused hanged himself from a ventilator, tearing a blanket which had purportedly been provided for his use, and using that to hang himself.

Liton, 40, was on a two-day remand in a case filed by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) under the Narcotics Control Act-2018.

Uttara Division Police Deputy Commissioner, Saiful Islam, told The Business Standard that the body had been taken to Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master General Hospital in Tongi.

A three-member committee headed by an additional deputy commissioner has been formed to investigate the incident.

According to a police source, Liton was arrested in Azampur under Uttara East Police Station on Saturday. 5,800 yaba pills were seized from his possession.

Human rights activists have said that after taking him into police custody, law enforcement must ensure the security of the accused.

Every police station has a police person to oversee the movement of the accused and the person in custody also remains under CTTV surveillance, they said, adding that there is no scope for an accused in custody to commit suicide.

If any incident like a suicide takes place, people have to understand that police has been negligent, said the human rights activists.

Noor Khan Liton, human rights activist and general secretary of the executive committee of Ain o Salish Kendra, said, "When anyone dies in police custody, police always claims it is suicide. But after investigation, we learn that it was not suicide. It happened because of torturing."

He said the investigation must be neutral.

"Claiming it to be suicide, police cannot avoid their responsibility. How is a person able to commit suicide in police custody?" he said.