The man who had apparently led the attack on Limon Hossain, a college student maimed by Rapid Action Battalion, and his mother filed a murder case against Limon’s parents, brother and relatives on Thursday.
Ibrahim Howlader, known as an informer of the RAB, filed the case with the Jhalakathi Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court, accusing Limon’s father Tofazzal Hossain Akon, his mother Henoara Begum, elder brother Sumon Hossain Akon and seven others of killing Forkan Howlader, his brother-in-law.
Senior judicial magistrate Nusrat Jahan asked the Rajapur police to investigate the allegation.
Ibrahim, also a prosecution witness in the case lodged by the RAB against Limon, filed the case a day after Limon’s mother filed a General Diary, accusing him of beating up her and her son Limon on August 20.
Limon, who had to have his left leg amputated after being shot by RAB personnel, and his mother came under attack when they were returning to their rented house in Pirojpur from their village home in Jhalakathi.
Forkan’s corpse was found in a house in the same area immediately after the attack on Limon was launched.
The police recorded the case as an incident of unnatural death on Tuesday as Ibrahim’s wife, Lily Begum, went to the Rajapur thana to file a case in connection with her brother’s death.
On Wednesday, Limon sought protection for him and his family from the police.
In the application he submitted to the police, Limon stated that he had been staying away from home out of fear of oppression by people identifying themselves as RAB informers — Ibrahim Howlader, Nannu Howlader, Manik Jamadar, Mansur Jamadar and Badsha Howlader.
In his complaint, Ibrahim claimed that the accused ambushed and injured him in Idurbari crossing at 4:15pm on Eid day, because of previous hostility.
On hearing his hue and cry, his brother-in-law Forkan rushed to the spot to rescue him but was beaten to death by the accused, Ibrahim claimed.
The accused in the case filed by Ibrahim also include Limon’s maternal uncle Siddik Hossain, former chairman of the local Union Parishad Hemayet Hossain Nuru, Limon’s relative Motaleb Hossain, former UP member Shahin, suspected criminal Morshed Jamadar, his nephew Sumon Shikdar, and Morshed’s associate Firoz Zamadar.
Rajapur thana’s officer-in-charge, Tofazzal Hossain, said the police had not found Forkan’s body where Ibrahim had claimed it to be, and after recovering his body from a nearby house on Monday afternoon he had sent it to the morgue in Jhalakathi for autopsy, and had lodged a case of unnatural death.
The police are yet to get the autopsy report, he added.
Ibrahim did not come to the thana to file the murder case and the police will act according to the order of the court, he said.
Limon’s mother Henoara denied the allegation and said that Limon was in Dhaka on Monday, and it is known by all and sundry that Ibrahim and his accomplices attacked and injured her and her sons Limon and Sumon, and Forkan died of cardiac attack far from the spot.
Forkan died of heart attack in front of Saturia Forkania Madrassah, about a quarter kilometre from the spot in Idurbari crossing.
Ibrahim’s elder sister, Nilufar Yasmin, said that Forkan died of heart attack in a spot between Forkania Madrassah and Idurbari crossing while he was rushing to Idurbari.
‘Forkan was brought to our house and died there,’ said Nilufar.
Parul Begum, a villager, claimed that her son Arif Hossain took Forkan to a roadside house and gave him first aid after he became seriously ill.
But now Arif has been forced to leave the area due to a death threat issued by Ibrahim after he refused to make a statement that Forkan had died after being beaten up by Limon and his family members, said Parul.
Rajapur’s upazila nirbahi officer, Abul Bashar Md Amiruddin, said that he had scrutinised the body at the order of the district magistrate before sending it to the morgue on Tuesday morning, and had found no marks of injury on the body.
Jhalakathi Sadar Hospital’s residential medical officer, Mahbubur Rahman, said he would submit the post-mortem report as early as possible.
-With New Age input
