Suspect dies in DB custody in Sirajganj

A suspect named Shahadat Hossain has died in the custody of the District Detective Branch (DB) in Sirajganj. Shahadat Hossain died after being admitted to the Sirajganj 250-bed General Hospital in a critical condition at around 3:30 pm on Friday (November 21).
It is learned that the deceased Shahadat Hossain (45) is the son of the deceased Khalil Hossain of Kalia Haripur Union in Sirajganj Sadar Upazila. The deceased’s brothers Ismail and Zahurul said that after the arrest, DB OC Siddiqur Rahman and Nazmul Hossain, along with some policemen, demanded Tk 5 lakh.
The family alleged that after Shahadat’s arrest, the DB police demanded Tk 5 lakh. When the money was not given as demanded, the police inhumanly tortured Shahadat. He died in the afternoon. In this regard, senior nurse Amy Khanam of Sirajganj 250-bed General Hospital said, “DB police admitted him to us as a case of physical abuse. He died as soon as we started treatment.”
Sirajganj Additional Superintendent of Police Mahbubur Rahman said, he was arrested yesterday morning. Then, when he fell ill around noon, he was taken to Sirajganj Sadar Hospital. He later died there. He died due to respiratory problems. Meanwhile, DB police have arrested another suspect named Saidul in this incident. His family alleges that Saidul has nothing to do with this incident. However, the police are arresting him. And since the arrest, the police have been demanding one lakh taka.
Saidul’s brother said, “We don’t know where my brother is since noon. No one is available at the DB office.” Ullapara OC Md. Ekramul Haque said, “We have not arrested Shahadat. Only DB SI Nazmul Haque has been given information about the accused. They are the ones who can catch him. Meanwhile, when DB SI Nazmul Haque was called, his statement could not be obtained. It is worth noting that on November 12, someone killed an auto-rickshaw driver in Ullapara, Sirajganj and robbed his auto-rickshaw. In that incident, the district detective police detained a van driver named Shahadat Hossain as a suspect for questioning two days ago. After that, when the police repeatedly demanded money, Shahadat’s family was unable to pay and was physically tortured. Yesterday afternoon, Shahadat Hossain fell seriously ill while in DB police custody and died after being taken to the hospital. The family claims that he was beaten to death. Meanwhile, the police say, “He died due to respiratory problems.”