IOs take time to submit charge sheets in sensitive cases
Gulam Rabbani :
It becomes a trend in our country that the investigation officers (IOs) of different sensitive cases repeatedly take time from the court for submitting the charge sheet of the relevant cases. And as a result, it is frustrating justice as well as the justice-seeking people.
This delay also calls into question the ability of our law enforcement agencies to investigate sensitive cases.
However one goes to court in order to get justice but when there is delay in justice individual lose their hope and hence the justice is denied. William Edward Gladstone, the former PM of England, cited the phrase ‘Justice delayed is Justice Denied’.
This phrase means if justice is not carried out at right time then even if it is carried out later it is not real justice, because when there was demand of justice there was lack of justice.
A Dhaka Court recently fixed June 22 this year for submission of the investigation report of a case filed in connection with the murder of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi.With this, the deadline for submission of probe report in the case deferred for 98th time.
Judge of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court (CMM) in Dhaka, Md Rashidul Alam, passed the order, said Jalal Uddin, General Register Officer (GRO) for Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station cases.
Sagar Sarowar, news editor of private TV channel Maasranga, and his wife Meherun Runi, senior reporter of another channel ATN Bangla, were killed at their rented flat in the capital’s West Rajabazar on February 11 in 2012.
Following the murder, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police had started an investigation into the case filed in this connection. Later, the case was shifted to DB police. However, on April 18, 2012, the High Court, in an order, shifted the case to RAB for investigation as the former had expressed its inability to resolve the case.
There is no update of the investigation in the case that has been submitted to the trial court concerned in last 10 years. The assigned investigation officer of the law enforcement agency only appears before the court on the fixed date and seeks more time for his conduct.
We see the same situation in submitting the charge sheet of another sensitive case. A Dhaka Court on April 4 fixed June 5 in 2023 for submitting the investigation report of a case filed in connection with the stolen money from Bangladesh Bank’s account with Federal Reserve Bank of New York in February, 2016.
Metropolitan magistrate of Dhaka, Rajesh Chowdhury, passed the order after Raihan Uddin Khan, Additional Superintendent of Police and also Investigation Officer of the case, failed to submit the probe report by April 4. The CID has taken 71 dates to complete its probe in the case, court sources said.
Earlier on February 14, the same court fixed April 4 in 2023 to submit the probe report. The CID has already passed almost seven years to probe the case but failed to submit the probe report yet.
On February 4, 2016, hackers broke into the central bank’s system and generated 70 fake payment orders to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York amounting to $1.94 billion. The NY Fed’s security system flagged the payment orders but only five of them fell through and $101 million was released.
On March 15, 2016, Joint Director of Accounts and Budgeting Department of Bangladesh Bank Zobayer Bin Huda filed a case with the Motijheel Police Station under the money laundering prevention act. The Criminal Investigation Department of police is now investigating the case.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer Manzill Murshid said, “Law enforcement agencies have weaknesses in probing some cases. In the Sagar-Runi case, the investigators have created a record of sorts. In this case, the question remains as to whether the delay is due to their lack of professional skills or some other influences. But whatever the situation, the investigator should submit the report immediately.”
Besides, he thinks that the investigation in the case of money stolen from Bangladesh Bank’s account may have been delayed due to the involvement of some state issues.
