We express our deep concern over the recent suspected case of custodial death at the capital’s Tejgaon Industrial Thana. A death in police custody, which is usually considered one of the most sacrosanct places for security of any individual, is utterly unacceptable.
The number of custodial death and incidents of reported torture have increased despite having Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act 2013 and High Court guidelines to contain torture and custodial death. A recent review of deaths in custody revealed a significant increase in the number of people dying in police custody over the last few months in the country. According to rights body Ain o Salish Kendra, at least 14 people died in custody last year. Of them, six died after torture.
It needs no emphasizing that the rising number of custodial deaths is certainly the consequence of the unbridled attitude of law enforcement agencies. Such notion also has made our law enforcers feel free that there is no one who can hold them accountable for offences they commit. Therefore, no visible action is taken against the accused members despite the fact there is a law in place.
A death in police custody, which is usually considered
one of the most sacrosanct places for security
of any individual, is utterly unacceptable
It was found that most of the time, law enforcement accused of custodial torture gets away with their offences as families refrain from seeking punishment, fearing reprisal. In most cases, the families choose to keep mum and display strong reluctance in seeking legal action against accused members of security forces, while some do not even know about the Torture and Custodial Death (Prohibition) Act.
The history of custodial death in Bangladesh traces back to the macabre assassination of four national leaders, revered as the founding fathers of our democratic republic, on November 3, 1975. One can truly fathom the brutality of the reprehensible killings when one realises that in prison, that is State custody, four defenceless public leaders were shot and bayoneted to death in the most despicable manner by berserk elements enjoying regime patronage.
However, regarding the recent custodial death at Tejgaon Industrial Thana, echoing Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Shafiqul Islam we would like to state that police could not avoid taking responsibility if an accused died by suicide in custody. We hope law enforcers will be more aware of the safety of the people in custody in future.
