Home Ministry Probe Report
Cops let mob beat Mamun to death
A home ministry probe body has found that detainee Mamun Bhuiyan had not been snatched by his rivals who killed him in front of police. On the contrary, police intentionally handed him over to them on May 29 in Kaliganj of Gazipur.
It has been revealed that Sub-Inspector Nripen Chandra Dey of Kaliganj Police Station abused his authority and also crafted a story to conceal the truth.
Two committees were formed following the incident — one by the police and, later, another by the ministry. Police filed a case against 150-200 unnamed people, while the brother of the victim filed another against rivals of Mamun, who was a sand trader.
The police committee, headed by the Gazipur additional SP, in its investigation report blamed negligence of duty by two policemen and an Ansar member for the death of Mamun, who hailed from Baragaon village in Kaliganj.
According to that committee, criminals “snatched” Mamun when he was being taken to the police station by a CNG-run auto-rickshaw, and beat him to death.
The home ministry probe body has found that Nripen, who made the arrest, violated both criminal codes and police rules by conducting the arrest as he had neither a warrant of arrest nor was he an investigation officer of the case against the victim.
Nripen went on to make the arrest in plainclothes and without taking service arms and walky talkie with him which was also a violation of service rules, said sources close to the probe body of the home ministry.
However, it has found no guilt of the two other personnel — one constable and one Ansar member — who accompanied SI Nripen during the arrest. Nripen was holding charge of the police station and made them accompany him.
Following the killing, the source said, Nripen fabricated a story that the incident occurred after he along with a police constable and an Ansar member had arrested Mamun at Ramchandrapur village that evening and was on way to Kaliganj Police Station.
However, the ministerial panel has found that following the arrest, Nripen and his team along with the arrestee were heading for the police station in an auto-rickshaw.
Pretending to be lost on their way to the police station, Nripen asked the auto-rickshaw driver to change direction. After going ahead to the direction shown by Nripen, the rivals attacked Mamun and killed him in the presence of the police, according to Nripen, who was later suspended and closed to Gazipur Police Lines.
The source said Nripen did not take his service arms and walky-talkie with him even though he was going to a remote place during the night to arrest Mamun.
During an interview with the probe body, Nripen said he could not contact the police station for help during the attack as his cell phone went off.
But the probe committee after scrutinising his phone’s call list found that Nripen made several calls and received calls during the incident.
The probe body also noticed that Nripen had put the handcuffs off the victim after his death was confirmed, and left the place.
This one-member investigation panel was formed with a deputy secretary of the home ministry on July 3 and was asked to submit its report on August 2.
The probe body has completed its report and it will be submitted in scheduled time, said the source.
The probe body found that Nripen had exercised undue powers by holding charge of the police station since, on that day, the officer-in-charge joined the police station but Nripen did not seek his permission to conduct the arrest.
-With The Daily Star input
