The High Court has upheld the life imprisonment sentences of former sub-inspector (SI) at Pallabi police station Zahidur Rahman and former assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Kamruzzaman in the case of the death of driver Ishtiak Hossain Joni due to torture while in police custody.
The court reduced the life sentence of another accused, former assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Rashedul Hasan, to 10 years imprisonment. One other accused was acquitted by the court.
The verdict was announced on Monday (August 11) by a High Court bench comprising Justice SM Quddus Zaman and Justice AKM Robiul Hasan.
Senior lawyers SM Shahjahan and Md Abdur Razzak appeared for the accused, while Deputy Attorney General Badiuzzaman Tapadar represented the state. Lawyer SM Rezaul Karim appeared for the plaintiff. The victim’s brother, Imtiaz Hossain, and other family members were present during the verdict announcement.
Among the five convicted accused, Kamruzzaman has been absconding since the beginning. Another accused, Suman, has already been released after serving his sentence.
The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act was enacted in 2013. The case was filed on August 7, 2014, regarding the torture and custodial death of Ishtiak Hossain — the first case filed under this act. The Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court delivered its verdict on September 9, 2020.
In the verdict, former Pallabi police SI Zahidur Rahman, ASI Rashedul Hasan, and ASI Kamruzzaman were sentenced to life imprisonment and fined Tk 100,000 each. They were also ordered to pay Tk 200,000 each in compensation to the victim’s family.
Two other accused, police sources (informants) Suman and Rasel, were sentenced to seven years imprisonment and fined Tk 20,000 each by the trial court.
The three convicts — Zahidur Rahman, Rashedul Hasan, and Rasel — filed separate appeals against the verdict in the High Court in 2020. The High Court accepted the appeals for hearing in 2021, and the joint hearing took place on July 9.
According to the case statement, on the evening of February 8, 2014, a wedding ceremony was held in Block B of Section 11, Irani Camp, Pallabi, where Md. Billal was hosting a Haldi (pre-wedding) ceremony. During the event, police source Suman behaved inappropriately towards women. Ishtiak and his brother Imtiaz told Suman to leave, which led to an argument between them.
Later, after receiving a call from Suman, police came and detained Ishtiak and Imtiaz, taking them to the police station where both were tortured. Ishtiak’s condition worsened, and he was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where he was declared dead by doctors on duty.
Following this incident, on August 7, 2014, Imtiaz Hossain filed a case at Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court against eight people including the then Pallabi SI Zahidur Rahman under the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act. The court ordered a judicial investigation.
The judicial investigation report was submitted on February 17, 2015, recommending prosecution of five accused and acquittal of five others based on evidence. During the investigation, ASIs Rashedul and Kamruzzaman were newly included as an accused.
On April 17, 2016, the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court framed charges against five accused in the case.