10 months in jail for someone else’s crime
The High Court on Sunday ordered the immediate release of a man who spent 10 months in prison after being mistakenly arrested in place of a convict in an arms case because of similarities in their names and addresses.
A High Court bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan passed the order following a judicial inquiry that established the man’s innocence.
The inquiry found that Md Almas, who was in custody, was not the person convicted in the arms case. The actual convict, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison, has been absconding since the trial began and is reportedly living in Canada.
A judicial inquiry report submitted to the High Court on November 5 identified the arrested Almas as the son of Sheikh Khalil and a resident of Kusumhati in Dohar, Dhaka.
In contrast, the actual convict, Md Almachh, is the son of Md Khalilur Rahman and a resident of Purba Dhoair village under Nayabari Union in Dohar.
He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in a case filed under the Arms Act with Mirpur Police Station.
According to the report, police mistakenly arrested the wrong person because of partial similarities in their names and addresses.
Almas later filed a petition with the High Court seeking legal remedy. Following an initial hearing, the court ordered a judicial inquiry to verify his identity.
Senior Judicial Magistrate Mahfuzur Rahman conducted the inquiry and submitted his findings to the court.
The report identified several discrepancies in the forwarding documents, police reports and arrest warrant, particularly regarding the accused’s address.
It found that the arrested Almas lived in Bahra village, while the actual convict was from Purba Dhoair village. Although both localities fall under the same post office, they are separate villages.
The inquiry also found differences in their fathers’ and grandfathers’ names. The arrested man’s father was Sheikh Khalil and his grandfather Sheikh Nawab Ali. In contrast, the case documents identified the actual convict’s father as Khalil Ahmed and grandfather as Sheikh Shohor Ali.
Their family backgrounds also differed. The actual convict was the only brother of three sisters, while the arrested Almas had two brothers and two sisters. There were also discrepancies in their ages.
The actual convict was 24 in 2002, making him approximately 48 in 2026. Almas, born on December 10, 1985, was around 17 at the time and is now 40.
Their occupations and lifestyles were also different. The actual convict reportedly lived in Paikpara, Mirpur, while Almas earned his living through farming and electrical work.
The inquiry concluded that the two men were different individuals and that Almas had been wrongly arrested and detained because of mistaken identity.