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BDR Men's Unnatural Deaths

Probe body fails to submit report again

M Abul Kalam Azad
A home ministry committee investigating the reasons behind the rising number of "unnatural" deaths of BDR personnel in custody has once again failed to submit its report and sought time extension for the fifth time.
The figure of custodial death has reached 47, but the committee has made little headway in its investigation in the last four and a half months since its formation on May 14. The latest deadline for submitting its report expired September 16.
The ministry has not yet approved the time extension petition.
Head of the committee Zakir Hossain, however, claimed that they had been allowed one more month to finish the probe.
Meanwhile, the investigation officer of the cases filed in connection with the February 25-26 mutiny and murders at the BDR headquarters did not submit the probe report to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's court on the scheduled date yesterday. The IO also did not inform the court about the reasons for his failure. The court yesterday asked the IO to submit the report by November 16.
Also yesterday, the Criminal Investigation Department showed 25 more BDR jawans arrested in connection with the cases and put them on a four-day remand. The total number of jawans shown arrested in Dhaka now standsat2,014.
The home ministry formed the four-member probe body following mounting pressure from human rights organisations at home and abroad.
Committee chief Zakir Hossain, who was recently promoted to the rank of joint secretary from deputy secretary and attached with the establishment ministry, claimed of making progress in their enquiry but refused to disclose any details.
"We are visiting the places of occurrences as we are dealing wifh’each of the death incidents," he told The Daily Star over telephone yesterday, adding that his committee would submit the report before expiry of the next deadline.
Three other members of the committee are head of Forensic Department of Dhaka Medical College Prof Mizanul Haque, Assistant Superintendent of Police Mahfuzul Mamun and Major AsifuzzamanofBDR.
When the committee was formed it was asked to complete the investigation and submit the report in 15 days with recommendations to prevent custodial deaths.
After the committee missed the first deadline of June 4, the home ministry allowed it 15 more working days to complete the enquiry. The committee missed the second deadline too and was given- further time of one month. But then it missed the third deadline of July 26 as well. On July 29, the home ministry gave the committee 30 more working days.
Police have so far arrested more than 3,000 BDR jawans from different places across the country following the worst mutiny in the history of BDR, which left 75 persons killed, including 57 army officers deputed to the force.
Forty-seven BDR soldiers have so far died in custody in the capital and elsewhere. Autopsies of 11 BDR members were conducted through the New Market police, who confirmed that two of these jawans were killed. There were marks of torture on their bodies.
Earlier this year, families of the two jawans also brought murder allegations.