11 policemen sent to jail for ‘crossfire’ killing

A Natore court on Sunday sent 11 policemen, including the then Singra police officer-in-charge, to jail on charges of killing a young man in the name of ‘crossfire’ on July 23, 2008 at Singra in Natore.
The Natore district and sessions judge, Abdul Majid, sent the cops to jail rejecting their bail petitions in the case, filed with the Natorte additional chief judicial magistrate’s court on August 27, 2009 for the killing, reports New Age correspondent in Natore.
The policemen sent to jail are then officer-in-charge of the Singra police, Abu Bakar, subinspectors Pradyut Kar and Liaqat Ali, assistant subinspector Jasim Uddin, constables Asir Uddin, Ansar Hossain, Abul Quashem, Anwar Hossain, Mafiz Uddin, Hafizur Rahman and Ansars Battalion member Adhir Chandra.
This is the first instance of any law enforcer’s landing in jail being accused of extrajudicial killing in the name of ‘crossfire,’ ‘encounter,’ or ‘gunfight.’
Earlier on May 10, the Natore additional chief judicial magistrate, Mohammad Akhteruzzaman, issued warrants for arrest of 12 policemen and seven others, accused in the case.
On August 27, 2009, Rajab Ali of Singra filed the case with the Natore chief judicial magistrate’s court accusing the 12 policemen and seven others of killing his son Ansar Ali in the name of ‘crossfire’ after picking Ansar up from his house on July 23, 2008.
After hearing the case, the court ordered judicial magistrate Mahmudul Hasan for a judicial inquiry into the matter.
In his report, Mahmudul Hasan said assistant subinspector Jasim Uddin of the Singra police filed the case on July 23, 2008 saying that a gang of robbers, which included Ansar Ali, fired into a patrol team of police in the Kakian forest at Singra, prompting the law enforcers to fire back. Ansar Ali was killed in the ‘crossfire.’
The judicial magistrate also reported that Ansar was actually picked up by the Singra police from his house and was killed in police custody. His body was dumped in the Kakian forest.
After reviewing the inquiry report, the additional judicial magistrate Mohammad Akhteruzzaman, on May 10, 2010 issued the warrants for arrest of the 19.
The accused earlier appealed to the High Court for anticipatory bail in the case and the High Court ordered them to surrender in lower court.
The 11 policemen on Sunday appeared in the district and sessions judge’s court seeking bail in the case. Another policeman and seven local people are, however, yet to surrender.
The seven local people were accused of helping the police in the extrajudicial killing.
The latest development came after the Human Rights Commission had asked the law enforcement agencies to stop extrajudicial killings in ‘crossfire’ or ‘encounter’ and custodial killings warning them that it would show ‘zero tolerance’ towards such incidents.
The commission also asked the police and the Rapid Action Battalion to conduct impartial and acceptable inquiries into such incidents and issued some directives for the law enforcement agencies in preventing further recurrence of extrajudicial or custodial killing.
The commission gave the directives to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner, AKM Shahidul Haque, and the Rapid Action Battalion director general, Hasan Mahmud Khandaker, who were called in by the commission on July 5 and 6.
The High Court on December 14, 2009 asked the authorities not to kill any more people in ‘crossfire’ or ‘encounter’ until it hears a rule it issued suo moto on extrajudicial killings.
Forty-nine people have so far been killed in ‘crossfire’ or ‘gunfight’ since the issuance of the High Court order.
Although the ruling Awami League in its election manifesto pledged an end to extrajudicial killing, 204 people have been killed in incidents such as ‘crossfire’, ‘encounter’ or ‘gunfight’ after January 6, 2009 when the Awami League-led government assumed office.

Courtesy of NewAge