The police on Thursday refused to accept a case against two police officials on charge of assaulting opposition BNP chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque during the hartal on Wednesday.
The police, on the contrary, filed a case against two lawmakers including Farroque and some 10 unnamed persons on charge of obstructing the police from discharging their duty, assaulting police officials and threatening them on Manik Mia Avenue during the hartal.
Besides, the police on Thursday formed a three-member committee to investigate Wednesday's police action on Farroque.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party's lawmaker ABM Ashrafuddin Nizan, along with his fellow party members, went to Sher-e-Bangla thana at around 3:30pm to file the case.
But the on-duty police officials refused to accept the case and told the opposition lawmakers that they would not be able to do so without getting a green signal from the government high-ups.
They said that the police themselves had filed a case against Farroque in connection with the incident.
The thana's operation officer, Tanveer Hassan, told New Age that some opposition lawmakers had come to the thana and given him a letter in a envelope.
'We have received the document but did not open it. I will discuss it with the officer-in-charge when he comes to the office,' he said. 'As there is already a case against Farroque, we can't lodge the opposition's case without permission from the higher authorities'.
But the on-duty officer had kept a copy of the complaint, which had the names of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's additional deputy commissioner Harun-or-Rashid and Mohammadpur zone's assistant commissioner Biplab Sarkar who allegedly led the attack on Farroque.
Farroque, who was injured in the police attack on Manik Mia Avenue on the first day of hartal, is now undergoing treatment at the United Hospital under police vigilance.
The BNP condemned the refusal to take the case and asked the government to take necessary measures to have the case filed, otherwise it threateningly said that the government would have to bear all the responsibility.
The BNP said it would go to court to file the case next week.
BNP's acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made the demand while addressing a media briefing at the party's central office on Thursday.
Later, in a press statement, Fakhrul rejected the 3-member inquiry committee formed by the police to investigate the attack on
Farroque, and blamed the home affairs ministry for the incident.
Fakhrul said that under the existing law it is mandatory for the police to take the case that any citizen wants to file with the thana.
'We are stunned. Is this the rule of law? In which direction is the country going?' he fulminated. 'The entire government mechanism was involved in the plot to assault Farroque in a bid to kill him.'
'A ligament of Farroque's left knee has snapped and a bone was fractured. He needs to be flown abroad for his treatment as he was assaulted in such a brutal manner that his treatment will not be possible in Bangladesh,' he claimed.
He came down heavily on the government as well as on the home affairs minister for their stance on the attack on Farroque. 'Sahara's comment on the Farroque incident is indecent,' he said.
Showing some video footage of the incident, Fakhrul claimed, 'Farroque did not throw brickbats or stones at any bus.'
Referring to a news item and photographs in daily Prothom Alo, he asked the newspaper authorities to dig out the truth behind the incident.
Alleging that the police are trying to arrest Farroque, he claimed that some 40 to 50 policemen have been deployed in and around the hospital.
Reiterating his demands for Sahara Khatun's resignation, he said, 'We want the men involved in beating up Farroque to be meted out exemplary punishment without any further delay.'
Several political parties condemned the police attack on Farroque and issued statements in which they also demanded exemplary punishment of the police officials responsible for attacking him.
While visiting Farroque at the hospital on Thursday afternoon, the Krishak Sramik Janata League's chief, Abdul Quader Siddiqui, told reporters that the police cannot act like thugs in a democratic society.
He vehemently condemned the attack on the lawmaker and demanded exemplary punishment of the assailants.
The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal's executive committee chairman, ASM Abdur Rab, and general secretary, Abdul Malek Ratan, said that this type of attack was an 'ominous sign' for democracy.
Bangladesh Jatiya Party's chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partho and general secretary Shamim Al Mamun, in a joint statement, said that this attack was a pre-planned attempt to kill the opposition chief whip.
The Bangladesh National Awami Party's chairman, at a press briefing in the party's office, said the country's people were shocked to see the way a central leader of the main opposition party was tortured by the police.
Jatiya Mukti Council's chairman Badruddin Umar and secretary Faizul Hakim said that the police attack on the opposition chief whip had taken place at the government's instructions.
The Bangladesh Sammilita Peshajibi Parishad said that the assault on the BNP chief whip has revealed the autocratic mentality of the ruling party. They urged home affairs minister Sahara Khatun to resign.
In a joint statement, a total of 1,111 physicians protested against the police 'atrocities' on Farroque. 'The police should have shown due respect to the Members of Parliament.'
Source : New Age
No comments:
Post a Comment