EMRUL HASAN BAPPI

Records and documents of four narcotics cases have gone missing about 10 months ago from a Dhaka court, raising questions about the security measures at the record room.

The cases, filed over the last seven to 21 years, are pending with the Special Judge’s Court-2 of Dhaka. But trial proceedings have remained halted since the discovery of the potential breach of the sensitive room.

Mohammad Ashek Ali, the court’s bench assistant, said he found the documents missing days after he joined the court on January 12. He has since been looking for the documents with no success.

On June 5, he informed Judge Abu Saleh Mohammad Ruhul Imran of the matter in writing. The judge could not take any action as his last working day at the court was on June 8, the day he received Ashek’s application for investigation.

Later that month, Ashek wrote to the registrar of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court, requesting a probe.

In the letter, he named Mohammad Rasel, the driver of the then judge Abu Saleh, as a suspect.

According to the letter, Rasel has been working at the court for around 14 years. He would “search files” of various cases at the storeroom during court hours, and would provide copies of the documents to different people for money.

“When I brought the matter up with Rasel, he became very agitated. On January 30, he threatened me and court staffer Johurul Islam, saying that he could even have our pension benefits cancelled,” he said in the letter.