The High Court (HC) has summoned two investigation officers (IOs) of a child murder case in Bogura to appear before the court for explaining the allegation of forcibly taking confessional statement from the victim’s brother. The brother is also a minor of 12-year-old.
The court ordered the-then IO Nayan Kumar, now an inspector of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Naogaon, and the present IO Md Mansur Ali, a sub-inspector of Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) in Bogura, to appear before the court by 10:30am on August 22 to give their explanation.
The virtual HC bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim and Justice Md Atoar Rahman on Wednesday (August 11) issued the order during the hearing on a criminal revision petition, filed challenging the legality of the trial proceedings at the Juvenile Court in Bogura.
Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir stood in the court for the petitioners, while Deputy Attorney General Sarwar Hossain Bappi represented the state.
Five lawyers of the Supreme Court, including Advocate Shishir Manir, filed the petition on June 20, seeking necessary direction from the higher court in reviewing the merit of the murder case. The lawyers filed the petition after an English daily published a report on the issue on June 11.
The HC bench held hearing on the petition on June 29, where Advocate Shishir Manir argued for the petitioners and pointed out the difference between the charge sheet and the inquest report of the case.
The HC bench had asked the two probe officers to appear before the court on August 3. The hearing of the petition was not held on that day as the court functions were suspended due to strict lockdown.
The petition appeared before the HC bench on Wednesday for an order as the court functions resumed.
IO Nayan Kumar appeared in person before the HC bench on Wednesday morning in compliance with its June 29 summons order. IO Mansur, however, did not appear.
At the time, Advocate Shishir Manir told the HC bench that the court may set a new date for hearing the matter as the court functions resumed on August 11.
On August 25 in 2015, the body of an eight-year-old named Sohagh was found in a jute field in Katakhali area under Sarikandi upazila in Bogura. A day later, his father Mohidul filed a case with Sariakandi Police Station.
On November 29 of the same year, policemen visited their home and took the brother of the deceased named Sourav to the police station for questioning. The following day the 12-year-old Sourav was produced in a Bogura court where he gave a statement, confessing to the murder of his brother. The court recorded the confessional statement under Section 164.
According to media report and lawyers of the case, the 12-year-old boy was tortured and forced to give confessional statement, but the juvenile court concerned in Bogura did not take any legal steps to this effect although there is a law in this regard. Sourav also claimed that he was forced to give the statement in face of police torture.
Police submitted a charge sheet naming Sourav as the lone accused, but the father filed a no-confidence petition and the court handed over the investigation to PBI on July 11 in 2017. After investigating for last four years, PBI found Sourav to be innocent and arrested two persons in connection with the murder.
