Staff Correspondent

The High Court yesterday directed the inspector general of police to give Tk 20 lakh as compensation to Md Arman, a technician at a Benarasi Palli in Mirpur, in 30 days as police personnel have wrongly arrested him and kept him in jail for around five years instead of the original accused in a drug case.

Declaring the arrest and detention of Arman illegal and contradictory to his fundamental and human rights, the court also asked the authorities concerned of the government to immediately release him from Dhaka central jail.

Delivering verdict on a writ petition, the HC ordered the IGP and DMP commissioner to withdraw four police officers, who were discharging duties under Pallabi Police Station during the incident, from their present workplaces.

The four police officers are then OC Dadan Fakir, now inspector under DMP; then SI Md Nazrul Islam, now court inspector under DMP; SI Md Sirajul Islam Khan, now inspector at the Sports and Culture department under Police Headquarters, and Md Russell, now SI of Mirpur Model Police station, court sources said.

The IGP and DMP commissioner have been asked to submit separate reports to the HC by February 14, 2021.

The HC also ordered PBI to conduct an inquiry into the incident and submit a probe report by April 11, 2021, said DAG Nawroz MR Chowdhury.

The HC bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim came up with the verdict following a petition filed by Law and Life Foundation.

The HC observed that the incident is very unexpected and a collective failure of the police department. The police personnel responsible for the incident must be accountable. Police must be more cautious in discharging duties so that innocent people are not victimised, the HC bench said.