Justice system can`t be saved from police remand or otherwise for lack of guts
An abducted teenage girl, who was said to have gang-raped and murdered, has been rescued alive in good health from Narayanganj, much to the surprise of the locals. The three people, who were previously arrested after being accused of the reported rape and murder, have also confessed to their crime before the Senior Judicial Magistrate Court while being in the police custody.
Media reports said, the incident questions the integrity of the investigation. The family sources alleged that the policemen of Sadar Model Police Station of Narayanganj have tortured the arrested persons to confess to the crime. They also claimed that they were forced to bribe at least Tk 47,000 to SI Shamim Hossain, the investigation officer of the case, to ensure the well being of the arrestees. Otherwise, the police threatened that the arrestees will have to encounter severe torture.
Meanwhile, various acts of brutalities and misdeeds like intimidation, extortion, detention of people without any valid reason, bribery, and threatening to crossfire are the most common allegations being raised against members of police. Extortion business by the dishonest police personnel from families of arrested persons on remand is now a regular phenomenon, it was alleged. But each and every such incident has a negative impact on the entire police force.
As reported, a team of police rescued the girl from Kushiyara area in Bandar upazila on Monday morning and later brought her to Sadar Model Police Station the same day. A three-member probe committee led by ASP Jayed Parvej Chowdhury has been formed to look into the matter. On August 6, the girl’s father Jahangir Hossain filed an abduction case with the police station accusing three persons — Md Abdullah, 22, Md Rakib, 19, and Khalilur Rahman, 36 — in connection with reported abduction. Acting on the case, police arrested the three people.
After being questioned by the police, the girl Jisa Moni, 15, currently in police custody, said she took off with her then-boyfriend Iqbal Pandit to marry him and remained absconding since then. However, the prime suspect Abdullah, with whom she was last seen on July 4, had no knowledge about her since that day. Police arrested the husband for marrying an underage girl.
In connection with this incident, on Tuesday, a revision was filed with the High Court challenging the accuracy, legality and rationality of proceedings of the abduction case filed in Narayanganj Sadar Model Police Station. Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir filed the revision on behalf of five other SC lawyers — Md Asad Uddin, Md Zobaidur Rahman, Md Ashraful Islam, Md Al Reza Amir and Md Misbah Uddin.
The revision also seeks directives from the High Court on concerned offices to summon the documents of the case so that they may be examined. The magistrate, the superintendent of police, the officers in charge of Narayanganj Sadar Model Police Station, the investigation officer of the case, plaintiff Jahangir Hossain and the three accused — Abdullah, Rakib and Khalil — were all made respondents to the revision.
The system of politics based police power has made justice mostly a police justice. Nowhere police remand in secret is allowed to save justice system. We are going through a time of intellectual dishonesty and police justice. Despite Supreme Court’s guidelines the lower courts routinely violate those guidelines to police custody under orders. Supreme Court is fully aware that lower courts help corruption by allowing extortion of the arrested person into police custody. There police torture them for money and securing false confession. The whole investigation system through agency has become unnecessary for easy police remand and torture.
What else is needed to know about abuse of police remand when two confessions were obtained for murdering the girl who has been found alive after 51 days. The corruption in police is revealed in this case. There were also threats of crossfire killing.
There is nothing more to know about blatant abuse of the justice system by police with the help of the judiciary. Unless the magistrates are obliging the police cannot make remand orders. The magistrates do not feel accountable to the higher judiciary. Because the higher judiciary looks the other way.
We are powerless against police brutality for corruption yet it has become fashionable for many to fight corruption in the judiciary. It is no use starting corruption cases keeping safe the corruption system.
We have been urging a numberless time that remand without the presence of lawyer must be stopped for being unconstitutional. Police acting jointly with judges has made justice system the place of all injustices. It has become normal practice not to grant bail once a person is arrested. What it means police arrest means he is guilty and must not be released on bail. Is he not innocent in the law before found guilty? Everywhere incompetent and corrupt people are prevailing for helping others to be corrupt as well. Many of those who are honest are chicken hearted. They know justice one must have judicial conscience and understanding that it is not the lawyers but the helpless ones who seek justice from the judges. The lawyers cannot be given too much indulgence to delay justice.
It is the duty the judges to deliver speedy justice. That is almost totally absent in our justice system. Justice is often delayed by the lawyers.
In another recent death sentence case, the Supreme Court found an innocent person was sentenced to death and he had passed twenty years in jail. The Appellate Division was waiting for formalities to release him. We find it sad that the court did not pass immediate order to release the person who had lost twenty years of his life in jail for the wrong committed by the courts, including the High Court Division.
