HC summons IOs for reportedly coercing minor into murder confession
A virtual HC bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim and Justice Md Atoar Rahman gave the order
The High Court (HC) on Tuesday summoned two investigation officers (IOs)-former and current- of a murder case of a minor, to explain an allegation of coercing the deceased's 12-year-old brother into giving a confessional statement. confessional statement from the deceased's 12-year-old brother.
The court ordered Nayan Kumar, former sub-inspector of Bogra's Sariakandi police station and Md Mansur Ali, a sub-inspector of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) in Bogura to appear in court on 3 August at 10:30 am to provide their explanation.
A virtual HC bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim and Justice Md Atoar Rahman issued the order.
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Ali, the current IO for the murder case, has been ordered to appear in court with relevant case dockets. The HC said it will issue its next orders on the case on that day.
The latest HC order comes following a hearing of a petition by five Supreme Court lawyers on 20 June seeking necessary direction from the court in reviewing the merit of the murder case.
The Supreme Court lawyers' petition to the HC came after a reportedly forced confession of the minor was brought to light in a report by The Daily Star on 11 June, with the headline, 'Bearing the Unbearable.'
Arguing for the petitioners in Monday's hearing, lawyer Shishir Monir pointed out the discrepancy between the charge sheet and the inquest report of the case.
Monir said, "After giving a statement under section 164, the 12-year-old child was admitted to hospital. The minor appeared in court and spoke of a violent beating and showed signs of injury on various parts of the body. The case was then handed over to the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) for investigation."
Deputy Attorney General Md Bashir Ullah represented the state in the virtual hearing.
The body of the deceased eight-year-old was found in a jute field in Bogura's Katakhali on 25 August 2015, and a day later, the child's father filed a case with Sariakandi Police Station. On 29 November of the same year, police officers visited their home and took the brother of the deceased to the police station for questioning. The following day the 12-year-old brother was produced in the Bogra Senior Judicial Magistrate's court, where he gave a statement, confessing to the murder of his brother.
