TDS Desk:

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali has said the former officer-in-charge (OC) who recently escaped from Uttara police custody is suspected to have fled to India or a nearby country.

During an exchange of views with the newly elected executive committee leaders of the Bangladesh Crime Reporters Association (CRAB) at the DMP headquarters on Tuesday, the senior police officer addressed the matter in response to a question.

Earlier, in connection with a case related to the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, former Uttara East police station OC Shah Alam was arrested in Kushtia.

However, on January 9, during the process of transferring him from the police station to court, he managed to escape.

It was later revealed that he was kept in the OC’s room instead of the detention cell.

Allegations were made that the police had been negligent, allowing him to escape.

After his arrest in Kushtia, a nationwide red alert was issued for his capture.

In response to a question from journalists regarding the escape, the DMP commissioner said they had brought the former OC from Kushtia and emphasized that the police did not nab him just to release him.

If that were the case, they could have let him go from Kushtia instantly, he added.

The DMP chief said: “The police officers had shown some sympathy by keeping him in an officer’s room rather than a detention cell. Had he been in the cell, he might not have been able to escape. The sub-inspector in charge may have been careless, which allowed the former OC to escape.”

He further said they are trying to capture him, but he believes the OC may no longer be in the country and could have fled to India or another location.

Earlier, DMP Deputy Commissioner (Media and Public Relations) Muhammad Talebur Rahman said a murder case was filed against Shah Alam on September 2 in connection with the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.

He was arrested on January 8 in that case and the next day, he managed to escape during the transfer to court.

As a result of negligence, an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) responsible for the transfer was suspended and the officer-in-charge of the police station concerned, Mohibullah, was transferred to the DMP headquarters.