Shumon 
        murder by police torture at Khilgaon Thana  
      Odhikar
        
      
On 
        23 October, Shumon went to his uncle's house in the evening to attend 
        an invitation. While he was coming back home at 10 p.m., Police arrested 
        him along with four other persons. His family members, on getting the 
        information, went to the Thana. They found Shumon handcuffed in the Thana 
        custody. As claimed by father of Shumon, he was quite normal then. He 
        went to the Second Officer, Sub-Inspector (SI) Mahbub and asked him the 
        reason for the arrest. SI Mahbub told him that Shumon was arrested while 
        he attempted to commit a robbery.
 
Shumon's 
        father told him that he was never involved in any illegal activity. There 
        was no general diary (GD) or suit filed against him in the Thana. He was 
        arrested as part of a conspiracy. The Second Officer demanded Tk. 30 thousand 
        from Shuomon's father to release Shumon. He demanded the money to be paid 
        to him by 3.30 a.m. that night. It was not possible for Shumon's father 
        to arrange Tk. 30 thousand within so short period of time. He could arrange 
        Tk. 10 thousand from his home. He sought help form the Ward Commissioner 
        (Ward no.24) Mr. Kazol. Mr. Kazol told him to go to his home the next 
        morning. Going there, Shumon's father did not find him at home. So he 
        could not arrange the rest of the money.
        In the morning of 24 October, Shumon's mother Nurjahan Begum went to Khilgaon 
        Thana and meet her son after giving bribe of Tk. 100. She found Shumon 
        very exhausted. Shumon told her that he was beaten by SI Mahbub up at 
        4.30 am at night. He was not given any food either. Shumon's mother wanted 
        to give him some food but police did not allow her. Shumon told his mother 
        to give police the money demanded by the police or else he would be killed. 
        Shumon's mother went back to home and again came back to Thana at 10.30 
        a.m. with her husband. They found Shumon lying on the floor of Thana custody. 
        He was so severely beaten that he could not stand on his own feet. His 
        hands, legs and leaps bore the signs of torture. 
       Shumon 
        again told his parents to pay police the money that they demanded. He 
        told again that he was beaten up for money. Second Officer Mahbub beat 
        him up twice at night. When Shumon's father went to Second Officer, he 
        (second officer) used abusive language with him. He told Shumon's father 
        to contact the officer-in-charge to get his son released. When Shumon's 
        father contacted the officer-in-charge, he told that illegal arms were 
        found in Shumon's possession. He also claimed that Shumon was involved 
        in a robbery incident. He demanded Tk. one lakh from Shumon's father. 
        On getting money, police would produce Shumon before court showing him 
        arrested under section 54 of the Cr.P.C. (freeing him from robbery case) 
        and he would be released from court on bail.
Shumon 
        again told his parents to pay police the money that they demanded. He 
        told again that he was beaten up for money. Second Officer Mahbub beat 
        him up twice at night. When Shumon's father went to Second Officer, he 
        (second officer) used abusive language with him. He told Shumon's father 
        to contact the officer-in-charge to get his son released. When Shumon's 
        father contacted the officer-in-charge, he told that illegal arms were 
        found in Shumon's possession. He also claimed that Shumon was involved 
        in a robbery incident. He demanded Tk. one lakh from Shumon's father. 
        On getting money, police would produce Shumon before court showing him 
        arrested under section 54 of the Cr.P.C. (freeing him from robbery case) 
        and he would be released from court on bail.
      That 
        was a Friday and the banks were closed. So it was not possible for Shumon's 
        father to arrange Tk. one lakh. He could arrange Tk. 10 thousand in cash 
        and he offered a cheque of Tk. 40 thousand to the officer-in-charge. The 
        officer-in-charge got angry with this. He got Shumon's parents out of 
        Thana and started beating Shumon in custody. Shumon's parents saw the 
        incident from outside the custody. At one stage, the officer-in-charge 
        pushed Shumon under his boot on the floor and he became unconscious. Blood 
        was coming out from his nose. Police immediately transferred him to Dhaka 
        Medical College Hospital. 
      At 
        3 p.m. in the afternoon, Shumon's elder brother Hira went to hospital 
        to see Shumon. They found police surrounding the hospital. Shumon was 
        kept on the floor with saline pushed in his hands at ward no.33. After 
        half an hour, his body was covered with a white cloth. 
      On 
        25 October in the morning, Shumon's father went to the hospital. At 4.30 
        p.m. Magistrate Abdur Rouf came to hospital to make autopsy report. Shumon's 
        family members feared that shumon died before and police transferred his 
        dead body to hospital to evade the responsibility of his death in police 
        custody. Shumon's father alleged that the Magistrate did not prepare the 
        autopsy report properly. According to Magistrate's description, a police 
        officer Sobhan prepared the autopsy report. They forced Shumon's father 
        to sign the autopsy report. He alleged that police had influenced the 
        Magistrate to prepare the report. There were signs of torture on various 
        parts of Shumon's body but it was not mentioned in the autopsy report. 
        On 26 October at 12.30 p.m., the post-mortem of the dead body of Shumon 
        was done. 
      On 
        26 October at 3 p.m., hundreds of people surrounded the Khilgaon Thana. 
        They chanted slogans against the Officer-in-charge Entezar Rahman. Odhikar 
        investigators were not allowed to enter into the Thana by police. The 
        officer-in-charge did not talk to Odhikar investigators and went out of 
        Thana. The Duty Officer SI Aziz informed that two cases were filed against 
        Shumon; one for attempted robbery (case # 57, section 448/323/379 under 
        Penal Code) and another for possessing illegal arms (case # 58 under section 
        19(a) of Arms Act along with section 399/402 of Penal Code). 
      He 
        denied that Shumon was beaten for money in Thana custody. He claimed that 
        Shumon was beaten by people when he attempted to commit robbery and he 
        died of injury in the hospital. Police themselves gave contradictory information 
        on Shumon's death. Once police told that Shumon became injured while he 
        tried to jump from the roof of a house while he went there to commit robbery. 
        People in the locality denied any incident of Shumon being beaten up by 
        the general public. 
      The 
        owner of the house where police claimed the robbery attempt took place, 
        Nurul Islam Munshi claimed that there was no attempt of robbery in his 
        house. He was forced by police to implicate Shumon in the attempt of robbery 
        case.
      It 
        was revealed from the hospital sources that Shumon died due to excessive 
        internal hemorrhage. The Head of the Forensic Department of Dhaka Medical 
        College Dr. Habibur Rahman informed that signs of beating were found on 
        hands and legs of Shumon. His leg mussels were smashed by beating. His 
        forehead skin bore sign of beating. 
      The 
        Officer -in- charge of Khilgaon Thana Entezar Rahman was closed on 27 
        October . on 28 October , Shumon's mother filed a case against the Officer- 
        in- charge and the Second Officer. The OC was suspended after the case 
        filed. A three-member probe committee headed by DIG Abdul Mannan was formed 
        to investigate the incident. On 4th November the robe committee gave its 
        report where it was claimed that Shumon did not die at police custody, 
        rather he died by mob-beating when he had gone to commit robbery. The 
        report also claimed that the parents of Shumon could not prove that police 
        demanded money from them. The report commented that the OC failed to protect 
        Shumon from mob beating. 
        
        Odhikar is a human rights organisation, prepared the report after 
        talking with Shumon's parents, medical expert and the local people.