An accused of the abduction of Chittagong magnate Jamal Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury died on Wednesday night, six hours after he was remanded in police custody, raising questions about the circumstances surrounding his death.
Police said Amar Kanti Das, 32, died of a heart attack at the Detective Branch (DB) of Police office before he was grilled, but his family dismissed the police claim and said he was tortured to death during interrogation.
Assistant Commissioner of DB Md Shafique Uddin Chowdhury said: "Amar began complaining of heart pains at 10:30pm before we could begin interrogation."
"As his condition deteriorated,
we rushed him to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) where he died at about 11:00pm."
Amar, a close associate of the prime accused of the case and local union parishad chairmen Kashem and Shahid, was arrested two days ago and taken to the DB office for questioning on the seven-day remand at 5:00pm on Wednesday.
His family said after the receipt of the autopsy report they would file a case against the police and the relatives of the abducted businessman.
Sulak Kumar Das, a cousin of Amar, said: "We will not only sue the police, but also the family of Jamal and Haji Monsur for the killing."
He accused Monsur, a local businessman, of framing Amar in
the abduction case and killing him with land-grabbing intent.
Monsur could not be contacted immediately for his comments.
Sulak alleged that the DB police tried to hand over Amar's body to his elder brother Samar Das on the night of his death in a hurry to cover up 'unspeakable torture' in custody.
But Samar declined to receive the body and did not show up to the DB office despite pressure, he added.
A three-member committee bringing together DB Inspector Yusuf Ali, CID Inspector Md Iqbal and City Special Branch Inspector Jasim Uddin was formed to interrogate Amar under the supervision of Assistant Commissioner (DB) Md Shafiquddin Chowdhury.
Amar's lawyer Advocate Rananga Chowdhury said: "We believe Amar died because of police torture on remand. I submitted a petition praying for a court order for the presence of a magistrate and a forensic expert during the autopsy."
"The court responded positively and we will file a case against the police soon."
Advocate Rana Dasgupta, central joint secretary of the Hindu, Bouddha and Christian Oikya Parishad, said he heard the allegation that Amar was beaten up by policemen as he was revealing the names of their colleagues who gobbled up Tk 25 lakh given to them by Jamal's family to buy the magnate's freedom.
Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Commissioner SM Sabbir Ali said a three-member probe body headed by DC (Riot Control Division) Noor Md Molla was formed to investigate the causes of the death.
"We would take action on the basis of the probe report," he said.
The forensic test on Amar's body was conducted at the CMCH by Assistant Professor Pradip Roy and the autopsy at Chittagong General Hospital morgue in presence of Magistrate Humayun Kabir.
Details of the reports could not be known immediately.
The death of Amar, accused of links with a set of ransom-motivated kidnapping gangs operating in Chittagong and its environs, became a buzz of Chittagong yesterday.
Most people appeared reluctant to buy the police line, saying he was the latest addition to a long list of custodial deaths that have drawn
fire from human rights groups in recent years.
Most locals said Amar, who was accused in four other kidnapping cases in addition to Jamal's, had a good health and married on July 11 this year.
He is accused of kidnapping businessman Haji Munir of Khatunganj, Chandra Shekhor Das of Kotwali Police Station, BRTA employee Mostafiz and Meherunnisa of Panchlaish Police Station.
He was remanded for the first time on Wednesday after his arrest at Kaliaish in Patiya upazila early Tuesday morning.
A survey report of Odhikar, a rights group, says 56 people were killed by law enforcers and 61 others died in police and jail custody in the first nine months of the current year.
Another survey of Mass-line Media Centre says 1,859 people were vcitimised by law enforcers in 441 incidents in the first 11 months of this year.
One hundred and sixty-nine policemen were closed and 259 suspended for their involvement with repression on unarmed civilian, it said, adding 122 policemen were arrested and 130 cases filed against them over the period.