Demanded transparent investigation into death of Siju in Gaibandha while fleeing police

TDS Desk:

Family members of 21-year-old Md Siju Mia, who attacked police officers at Saghata Police Station and died after jumping into a nearby pond on Sunday, claimed he was murdered and demanded an impartial probe into his death.

According to Siju’s mother Rikta Begum, the family visited the police station on Friday night to file a complaint detailing the true circumstances, but their complaint was not accepted.

Badsha Alam, officer-in-charge of the police station, said police registered an unnatural death case and Rikta was made as the plaintiff.

Police said Siju, a student from Baguria village in Gaibandha’s Sadar upazila, drowned in the pond while fleeing after attacking police with a knife inside Saghata Police Station on Thursday night.

There are also allegations against police of concealing information in the incident.

A week ago, Siju purchased a phone from Junaid Telecom at New Market in Gaibandha Sadar.

On July 22, Gidari Union Parishad member Ramzan Ali, as per instruction of Saghata Police Station’s Assistant Sub-inspector Rakibul Islam, informed the victim’s family that the phone Siju has been using was a stolen item and he has to submit it to police. Then, Rikta along with her daughter, Khushi Akter, handed over the phone to constable Azad of the same police station in presence of Ramzan in the Sub-registrar area of the town around 1:30pm on Thursday, said Siju’s mother.

Later when Siju came to know about the matter, he went to the police station to retrieve some important video footage and documents, said his sister Khushi.

Asked about the matter, Junaid Islam, owner of Junaid Telecom, told that, “A few days ago, Siju bought a Redmi 10C model mobile from my shop. The owner of this phone was my elder brother, named Chayon.”

He said, “Siju, his cousin Sohel, and I went to the police station on Thursday afternoon. We couldn’t meet ASI Rakibul there because he was in Gaibandha town at that time. We waited for three hours there and then left the police station except for Siju.”

He added, “The police never contacted me or wanted to know about the phone I sold to Siju.”

Contacted, Ramzan said, “ASI Rakibul told me that Siju was using a stolen phone. After I informed Siju’s family, Constable Azad collected the phone in my presence on Thursday afternoon.”

According to the GD, the description of the stolen phone does not match the handset Siju purchased from Junaid Telecom.

The GD mentioned the stolen phone as an iTel, whereas the one recovered from Siju was a Redmi.

Even the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number in the GD differs from the one provided by the mobile shop owner Junaid.

Attempts to contact ASI Rakibul were unsuccessful as he did not answer phone calls or respond to text messages.

Around 3:00pm on Friday, Bidroho Kumar Kundu, additional superintendent of police of Gaibandha A-Circle, told journalists that Siju first went to the police station to file a GD. Later, police told him to file the complaint at Sadar Police Station.

Then, around 9:50pm, Siju entered the police station with a sharp knife and stabbed a constable named Sirajul Islam and an ASI named Mohsin Ali before fleeing, he said.

On Friday morning, fire service personnel recovered Siju’s body from a pond.

Asked why police concealed the information of receiving the phone from Siju, ASP Bidroho told The Daily Star, “We came to know about the matter on Friday night.”

Contacted, Saghata OC Badsha said, “ASI Rakibul Islam recovered a phone from Siju, but he did not inform us earlier. That’s why we couldn’t tell the journalists before.”

Meanwhile, a video footage showed some people in the dark hitting Siju with sticks and some other people on the bank were heard saying not to hit his head.

On the other hand, local journalists were informed by police that a case was filed against Siju for attacking police at the station on Thursday night.

Asked if there were any injury marks on Siju’s inquest report Bidroho Kumar said, “I cannot comment on this. We did not see any such marks. I do not have the inquest report in my hand. The matter will be clear once the post-mortem report is available.”

However, Siju’s uncle Reza Mia told that there were injury marks on the back of his head and his left hand, contradicting police’s claim of no wounds.

In the afternoon on Sunday, locals formed a human chain outside the Gaibandha District Police Office demanding a fair investigation and justice for Siju’s murder. (Source: The Daily Star)