Pabna: A man accused of abducting a 5-year-old child died in police custody in Faridpur Police Station of the district on Monday night.
The deceased was identified as Md Hasan Ali, 40, of Arkandi village in the upazila.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Pabna, Jahangir Hossain Matobbar said, “We are not sure how the victim died, though a rope was found nearby, indicating he may have strangled himself.”
He said negligence by on-duty policemen is also evident.
“We have already suspended Md Akhteruzzaman, sub inspector and Golam Mostafa, duty officer and further action would be taken against them after investigation,” said the SP.
However, Hasan’s father Ansar Ali claimed that the police tortured his son to death. “Hasan was in good health when the police took him to the station,” Ansar said.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Faridpur Police Station Md Abu Jafar, however, denied the allegation of torture.
Earlier on Sunday, Hasan kidnapped Shezan, 5, son of Amjad Ali of village Kharmadiar of Bheramara upazila of Kushtia and demanded a ransom of Tk 50,000 from the child’s father over mobile phone, said police and locals.
However, Hasan was caught by locals and handed over to Faridpur police the next morning. The locals also rescued the child.
Hasan was found dead on Monday night about 10:30pm by the on-duty police.
The body has been sent to Pabna General Hospital morgue for autopsy.
Dr Khalilur Rahman of the hospital said, “We have found signs of injury to his neck when he was brought to the hospital though how he died cannot be found by autopsy.”
Two on-duty policemen of the station were suspended for sheer negligence of duty and an inquiry team of four police officers was formed yesterday to investigate the death.
