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OC Moazzem to face music: Home Minister


Published : 09 Jun 2019 08:36 PM | Updated : 03 Sep 2020 09:05 PM

Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan said former officer-in-charge of Sonagazi police station Moazzem Hossain must be punished for his role in  He said this while talking to reporters at his office at the secretariat after the Eid vacation on Sunday. The home minister said it may take time to trace him but he must face trial.

Meanwhile, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) in a statement expressed deep concern over media report stating that OC Moazzem had gone into hiding. In the statement, TIB executive director Dr Iftekhairuzzaman said, “It is very normal that police’s role in arresting OC Moazzem, as per court order, will raise question after the fleeing of the OC.”

He termed it as an ominous sign for establishing the rule of law. He again demanded the judicial inquiry into the negligence of police into the sensational murder of Nusrat. Mentionable, after a week of dilly-dallying since the issuance of arrest warrant by a court against the former Sonagazi OC, the police now say that Moazzem Hossain has fled.

Police of both Feni and Rangpur have confirmed that the arrest warrant had been received. Speaking to media on Saturday, deputy inspector of police of the Rangpur range, Debdas Bhattacharya, said that the arrest warrant had reached Rangpur, but Moazzem was absent from his post, without prior permission. The warrant was then sent on to the OC of Sonagazi police station. The rules hadn’t been followed in sending the warrant to Rangpur and he will ask the Feni police to adhere to the rules, Debdas Bhattacharya said.

The cyber tribunal in Dhaka issued the warrant against former OC Moazzem on 27 May under the Digital Security Act. On May 31, the warrant reached the office of the police super in Feni. However, the police super Kazi Munir-uz-Zaman repeatedly denied the matter. Finally on June 3, he admitted that he had received the warrant.

Two days after that the warrant was sent by special courier to the Rangpur range.Moazzem Hossain took full advantage of the delay and has fled. His mobile phone had been in operation all these days, but was shut off from Saturday. Earlier, a case against Moazzem Hossain was filed by Supreme Court lawyer Syed Sayedul Huq in connection to the murder of Sonagazi madrasa student Nusrat Jahan.

Judge ASH Sams Joglul Hossain of Dhaka Cyber Tribunal issued the warrant after Rima Sultana, senior assistant superintendent of police of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), submitted a probe report confirming the OC’s involvement in the incident. The tribunal directed the police authorities to submit a report on the execution of the arrest warrant by June 17. According to the probe report, the OC himself had recorded the video on camera and later passed the footage to someone else.