CHOUGACHHA, Bangladesh — A team from Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal investigated the 2016 police shooting of two leaders of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, in Chougachha upazila of Jashore on Thursday.
The three-member team, led by investigating officer Moazzem Hossain, visited the scene at Bundulitala, the upazila health complex and the local police station to gather evidence, officials said. The investigation was conducted at midday on Thursday, Aug. 28.
The two Shibir leaders, Israfil and Ruhul Amin, who were shot in the legs by police, told the team that on Aug. 3, 2016, they were returning home after organizational work when SI Majed and SI Mokhlesur Rahman of Chougachha police station detained them and took them to the station.
The two said they were handcuffed and tortured throughout the night by SI Majed and officer-in-charge M. Mashiur Rahman. On the morning of Aug. 4, they were taken to the Detective Branch (DB) office, where they were tortured all day. While being brought back to Chougachha police station, they said, police handcuffed and blindfolded them in the Kayarpara area.
At about 2 a.m., they said, they were taken to a deserted field in Bundulitala, where police shot them in the knees, shattering their legs. SI Akikul Islam packed sand on the wounds, they said. After the shooting, their blindfolds were removed and they saw SI Akik, SI Mokhlesur, SI Majed and officer-in-charge M. Mashiur, they added.
The two were then taken to the upazila hospital and referred the same night to Jashore Sadar Hospital. When their condition did not improve after two days, they were transferred to the Pongu Hospital in Dhaka. Seven days after admission, doctors decided to amputate their legs. Various media outlets at the time reported the incident as a gunfight in which the two Shibir leaders were wounded.
The tribunal’s team also took statements from local journalists and residents during the visit.
“Every person has the right to justice. This is a horrific incident. The case must be tried. Otherwise, criminals will keep committing such acts,” Hossain, the investigating officer, said.
The victims filed a complaint at the tribunal’s prosecution office on Nov. 5 seeking a proper investigation and trial.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report