Many innocent people land in jail because of fake arrest-warrant. There are instances when the innocent suffer as false warrants are out for their arrest. Many other innocents are also wrongfully detained in jail due to indifference of police.
The victims don’t get any compensation for their harassment, but the culprits, who are responsible for harassment and sufferings of innocents are at large without being punished. So, the misdeed is continuing in the country, it is alleged.
It is further alleged that some law enforcers, court employees, lawyers’ assistants are in an unholy nexus and involved in producing fake warrants for personal vendetta or in exchange of money. The culprits are still involved in the misdeeds despite the High Court’s directives in this regard.
Mohammad Hamidur Rahman, Engineering Manager of BTV, is one of the latest victims. He said he was detained on November 15, after a month of the HC’s directives. However, he was released from the police custody the following day after he had convinced police that he was a victim of two fake arrest-warrants issued in the name of a tribunal in Barishal.
The official of the 25th BCS Cadre later filed an application to the DMP office demanding identification and arrest of the culprits who were involved in issuing fake warrants. However, the matter ended there, Hamidur Rahman told the Bangladesh Post on Sunday.
A resident of Sylhet spent about a month in Sylhet Central Jail. He said, “Police arrested me on a fake warrant that was issued in the name of a Dhaka court. I had engaged lawyers in Dhaka and Sylhet courts to stand for me. It took some days to prove that the warrant was false. However, I was released from jail some days after the Dhaka court’s release order reached Sylhet.”
“Alongside the harassment, it is also a shame for me. I can’t tell anyone that I had to stay in jail on a fake warrant. I don’t know who are behind the misdeed,” he complained.
Advocate MA Khan, a lawyer of Dhaka Judge’s Court, who dealt with the matter, said that many innocent people face such harassment. However, none has the statistics or list of prisoners and people who are released after facing arrest or detention on fake arrest-warrant. Those involved in such crime should be punished. However, police should be more aware about confirming the authenticity of arrest-warrant, he added.
Like the Sylhet victim, many other innocent people suffer because of false arrest-warrants. Such incidents usually remain secret as the victims feel embarrassed to disclose the truth.
Badal Mia (57), a farmer of Potkakhali village in Dhalua union of Barguna Sadar upazila, is another recent victim. He never came to Dhaka in his life, but he was arrested following ‘an arrest-warrant issued from a child court in Dhaka on charge of raping a little girl in Dhaka’.
Although there is no such ‘child court’ in Dhaka, police arrested the farmer on December 14 in 2020 without any verification. However, there are nine Women and Child Repression Prevention Tribunals in Dhaka.
Badal Mia said, “I have never visited Dhaka in my life, but I had to spend 35 days in jail on a fake warrant in a child rape case of Dhaka.”
It is alleged that two policemen of Barguna Sadar Police Station are involved in the incident. Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the police station Tarikul Islam on Sunday told the Bangladesh Post that ASI Saiful Islam and ASI Naimur were withdrawn from the police station 15 days ago for their alleged involvement in the arrest on fake warrant.
When asked why the innocent man was arrested without verification of arrest-warrant, he said that copies of arrest-warrants come to them through the court and the SP office. As a result, they don’t check the arrest-warrant, they obey the order of higher authorities.
Meanwhile, Mintu Mollah, son of Mohar Ali Mollah of Dighirpar area at Benapole of Jashore, is one of the latest victims of police’s negligence. The day-labourer spent four months in jail and was released on Thursday (March 11).
Police arrested Mintu, instead of Ashraf Ali, in a loan default case on November 16 in 2020. Confusion arose as fathers’ names of Mintu and Ashraf are similar. Soon after the arrest, Mintu’s family members went to the police station with a copy of his birth registration certificate, but police didn’t release him. Later, Mintu informed the jail authorities about this, but no one paid any heed to it. A team of law ministry recently visited Jashore Central Jail and Mintu complained to them. Finally, he was released, said Advocate Mostafa Humayun Kabir, Jashore Coordinator of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST).
Advocate Mostafa alleged that alongside the mistake, some law enforcers and many others produce fake warrants to harass the innocent.
Advocate Muzahidul Islam, a lawyer of Dhaka court, voiced the same opinion and said that arrest on fake warrant happens more in Brahmanbaria and some other districts. Recently, a human rights platform dealt with such a matter in Brahmanbaria. “Arrest on fake warrant is a threat to dispensation of justice. It must be stopped,” he added.
Victims of fake warrant don’t receive compensation even though some of them are reported to have been wrongfully detained for months. Legal experts said that the victims must also receive compensation. Unless the authorities concerned take punitive measures, this would encourage the recurrence of such crimes.
The High Court last year issued seven directives aimed at stopping arrest on fake warrant following a writ petition filed by a woman whose husband was arrested on four fake warrants issued in the name of courts in Cox’s Bazar, Rajshahi, Sherpur and Bagerhat.
The directives include putting the name and designation of the judges concerned on the warrant and the mobile numbers of the staff who write the warrant, maintaining of registry, recording of relevant details of the warrants and the arrestees.