Award-winning additional SP sued over custodial torture
The plaintiff also claimed that he was forced to sign 76 bank cheques worth Tk60 crore
An award-winning additional superintendent of police has been sued over allegedly torturing a businessman in the detective branch (DB) custody in Dhaka.
The additional SP Nazmul Haque, currently posted as additional deputy commissioner of DB of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, was recently awarded the President Police Medal in police week 2023.
A businessman Atiqur Rahman on Tuesday filed the case with the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court against four people, including two DB officers, for torturing him in custody.
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The plaintiff also claimed that he was forced to sign 76 bank cheques worth Tk60 crore.
The case has been filed under the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act, the businessman's lawyer Aminul Gani Tito told The Business Standard.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Asaduzzaman set Wednesday for further hearing on whether the case would be accepted or not.
The accused are Nazmul Haque, additional deputy commissioner of the DB's Cyber and Special Crime Department (North), DB Inspector Saiful Islam, Saidur Rahman Habib from Savar's Jaleshwar, and Mukarram Hossain Jimi of Uttara Sector 11.
Atiqur is the director and chairman of Golden Times Sweater and Sewing Limited and ASR Computerised Sweater Industries in Uttara.
The lawyer Aminul claimed that Atiqur was arrested by the DB in a plotted fraudulence case on 15 January 2020.
He was tortured by Nazmul and Saiful in the DB office for days and was forced to sign 76 bank cheques of Tk60 crore, said the lawyer.
The police officer Nazmul then made an offer to the trader that they will facilitate and secure Atiqur's bail in exchange of Tk2 crore, he said quoting the case statement.
"Then, Tk2 crore was withdrawn by the DB officers on 29 January 2020 and they processed Atiqur's bail," Aminul added.
He further said that Atiqur was brutally tortured in police custody and required a long period of treatment.
The businessman complained to senior police officials but got no positive response. Finally, he has come to the court to ensure justice, said the lawyer.
While contacted, the accused Nazmul refuted the allegation terming it false, and full of lies.
He said that there were business disputes between Atiqur and others and the trader was taken into police custody for remand in a forgery case.
"Why has he filed the complaint suddenly around four years after the arrest?" asked Nazmul.
He said that there were departmental inquiries about it and nothing was found against him.
The case is a plot to avoid the cheque dispute, the police officer claimed.
