The High Court has ordered Shakil Uddin Ahmed, a former officer-in-charge (OC) of Puthia Police Station in Rajshahi, to surrender to the trial court concerned within two weeks.
The HC bench of Justice Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice AKM Zahirul Haque delivered the order on Tuesday following a petition.
MK Rahman, a senior lawyer of Bangladesh Supreme Court, took part in the hearing for the petition, while lawyers Khurshid Alam Khan and AKM Alamgir Parvez Bhuiyan represented the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in the court. Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik, Assistant Attorney Generals Anna Khanam Kali and Md Saifur Rahman Siddiqui Saif represented the state.
According to Deputy Attorney General Amin Uddin Manik, the case, which was recorded on June 11 in 2019 by Puthia Police Station, is a blatant violation of Article 243 of the Police Regulation of Bengal and Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Shakil Uddin Ahmed violated the law.
On January 24 this year, the ACC filed a case against the former OC on charges of manipulating the first information report (FIR) of transport worker leader Nurul Islam murder case in 2019. ACC Assistant Director Al Amin filed the case with its Rajshahi integrated district office as the commission found proof of manipulation in the FIR.
The-then OC Shakil Uddin Ahmed, a resident of Monkosha village in Shibganj upazila of Chapainawabganj, made six people although the case was filed against eight people initially. The ex-OC also changed the description of the case statement.
According to the case statement, Nurul Islam was the general secretary of the Road and Transport Motor Workers’ Union of Puthia.
He contested for the post of general secretary in the union election on March 24 in 2019 and got the highest number of votes. However, the election conducting committee tampered with the results and declared another the winner. Later, Nurul Islam and three others filed a case in this regard.
The case statement said that Nurul Islam could not be traced since the evening of June 10 in 2019, and his body was recovered the next day. His daughter Nigar Sultana filed a murder case against eight people.
It was alleged that the then OC Shakil was involved in manipulating the election results and he did not record the FIR and asked Nigar to submit it afresh after omitting the part.
However, Nigar again filed the FIR and OC Shakil received it. She also signed on some blank papers upon being asked by the OC. Later, the police submitted an FIR of the murder case to the trial court, dropping two names.
Nigar filed a writ petition with the High Court challenging the manipulation of the FIR.
The higher court directed the chief judicial magistrate of Rajshahi to conduct an enquiry into the allegation. The chief judicial magistrate submitted a report to the High Court, citing the role of OC Shakil in tampering with the FIR.
Based on the judicial probe, the High Court on December 1 in 2019 directed the ACC to take the next course of legal action.
