Deputy Commissioner of Kurigram Sultana Parvin was withdrawn from her post and made officer on special duty (OSD) on Monday on charges of being involved in brutally torturing journalist Ariful Islam at the DC office, and sentencing him to jail through a mobile court.
Mohammad Rezaul Karim, deputy secretary to the Public Administration Ministry, has been made the deputy commissioner and magistrate of the district.
The Public Administration Ministry issued a gazette notification in this regard on Monday. Ariful Islam, district correspondent of online news portal Bangla Tribune, was jailed for one year and fined Tk 50,000 for ‘possessing narcotics’ by a mobile court at the dead of the night. The incident triggered widespread criticism among different strata of society in mainstream media as well as the social media.
Meanwhile, three magistrates of Kurigram district administration were also withdrawn for their alleged involvement in torturing journalist Ariful Islam Rigan on Monday.
They are — Senior Assistant Commissioner Nazim Uddin, Assistant Commissioner Rintu Bikash Chakma and Assistant Commissioner SM Rahatul Islam. According to the notification, they will be now attached to the ministry. The local administration claimed that Ariful was arrested with 450ml local liquor and 100g hemp. But Ariful’s wife Mostarima Sardar Nitu claimed that a group of law enforcers entered their home breaking open the door at Charuapara in district town around Friday midnight and took away her husband forcefully without giving any reason.
After getting bail on Sunday, Ariful said he was tortured by the magistrates. The High Court, meanwhile, on Sunday wanted to know the offence for which Ariful Islam was sentenced to one-year imprisonment. The bench of Justice Md Ashraful Kamal and Justice Sardar Md Rashed Jahangir also asked the government to inform it by Monday whether the arrest and jail sentence of Ariful was legal.
The bench issued verbal directive seeking the information from the authorities while hearing a writ petition filed by Harun Ur Rashid, executive editor of Bangla Tribune. The bench set Monday for passing order on the issue. The Editors’ Council in a statement demanded withdrawal of a case filed against journalist Ariful Islam. The council also demanded withdrawal of Kurigram deputy commissioner Sultana Pervin and take departmental action against her.
After getting released from jail at about 11:00am, journalist Ariful Islam Regan was rushed to the Kurigram General Hospital with bruises all over his body. The hospital superintendent Abu Muhammad Zakirul Islam said that the journalist was admitted with marks of injuries.
Afirul at the hospital told journalists that Nazim and others broke into his house midnight past Friday and Nazim began punching him in the face.
“I was repeatedly asking him what my fault was. I even said if I made anything wrong, I beg apology for this. I said I did not commit any crime.” “The RDC then said, ‘You have become a star journalist! Let me give you a lesson as you write against the DC. He whisked me onto a vehicle and asked his team to handcuff and blindfold me. He said then said, ‘It is the last day in your life. You will be put on encounter’. I was extremely upset and I thought they really want to kill me. Then, I started crying and begged pardon’,” said Ariful.
Ariful said that he was taken to the bank of river Karma and then the RDC asked him to recite kalima. “I started calling Allah. I was saying Allah, save me.” “Nazim then asked someone to call the DC sir…I was later taken to a room at the DC office blindfolded. They started torturing me. They kicked me on my chest and then beat with baton. On leg, back, hand…”
“They filmed me stripping me off and took my signature on four places. I do not know where I put my signature.”. “As one of them told Nazim that patrol police arrived, he said police could not compete with them, he said, then they took me to somewhere else.” As they took off Ariful blindfold, he found him at the jail gate.
“Nazim asked me there whether I had called the police station. I replied, yes I called as you said you came from police station. Then he ordered the jail officials to put me in jail for a month and not to give me any medication,” he said. Executive magistrate Rintu Bikash Chakma on Saturday claimed that a taskforce comprising the police, Ansar and the narcotics control directorate carried out the raid based on specific allegations and jailed the journalist for one year and fined him Tk 50,000.
Kurigram deputy commissioner Sultana Pervin also denied allegations against her and claimed that Ariful’s incident was not related to any report. Socio-political and human rights organisations in and outside the capital continued their protest since Saturday. The Human Rights Forum Bangladesh in a statement protested the conviction awarded by the mobile court.
