‘Feni SP writes to police headquarters to protect OC’

Feni superintendent of police Jahangir Alam blamed Nusrat’s family for ‘dillydallying’ in filing the case over her death, sources at police headquarters said.

Alam made the allegation in a letter to police headquarters on 11 April.

Madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi was set on fire on 6 April and she died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on 10 April.

Earlier, Sonagazi police station ex-officer-in-charge Moazzem Hossain was withdrawn following the plaintiff’s no-confidence in him into cognizance.

Nusrat’s family alleged that the letter was sent to protect the OC.

Police tried to divert the incident of murder to different direction, the family added.

The family also alleged police played foul over the case statement.

Sources at the police headquarters said Feni police super Jahangir sent the letter on 11 April. The letter was forwarded to the police headquarters, the special branch and the DIG office of Chattogram range.

In the letter Jahangir stated that, on 6 April, Nusrat went to the madrasa and left her papers on the desk. Then she went to the washroom on the roof of the building. After some time, she came down by the stair. She was screaming as she was burning. The police members on duty and employees of the madrasa put out the fire.

Accordiong to the letter, though the police requested Nusrat’s family repeatedly to lodge a case, they delayed. As the police tried to file a case with her uncle as a plaintiff, Nusrat’s brother Mahmudul Hassan opposed. Mahmudul Hassan changed the case statement two times, the letter elaborated.

Nusrat’s family pointed out that the incident was depicted in such a manner that it seemed Nusrat went to the roof on her own. She was set on fire after being tricked into going to the roof of the madrasa, the family said adding the fact was dropped from the letter.

Nusrat’s brother Mahmudul Hassan told Prothom Alo that the OC termed the sexual abuse incident a concocted one after the case was filed against the principal on 27 March.

Mahmudul Hassan said Afsaruddin, an English teacher of the madrasa, threatened their family to withdraw the case prior to around one and half hours of the incident. Thirty hours after the incident, the OC told the media that there would be an investigation to know if this was a suicide attempt or a murder attempt, he said adding information was hidden from the 8 April case statement too.

However, the statement was revised in the face of protests from the family, he added.

Mahmudul Hassan said that Sonagazi police station sub-inspector Iqbal Ahmed took an interview of the victim on 6 April taking permission from the physicians of
DMCH Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit. He recorded the interview and read out to the family members.

Mahmudul Hassan said that it was found in the case statement that the spot of the incident was written wrongly. Hands and legs of Nusrat were tied up and she was set on fire. But these informaton were found missing from the case statementm Mahmudul said adding key accused were also dropped.

Police super Jahangir Alam, however, declined to comment regarding the allegations.

When asked, Chattogram range DIG Faruque said there is no scope to ignore such an issue from a responsible position.

Meanwhile, the police headquarters has formed a five-member committee to investigate police role in the incident. The committee is set to meet on Wednesday, though the date of the report submission has not been fixed yet.

The committee will probe whether the police had carried out the specific duties they were supposed to do, head of the probe committee and the deputy inspector general (media) Ruhul Amin told Prothom Alo. The committee will talk to the police members and Nusrat’s family as well to investigate the allegations against the OC.

Nusrat Jahan Rafi was set on fire on 6 April and she lost her battle for life on 10 April. A number of accused have been detained in connection with the incident.

Seven persons were named in the case statement. The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) has been investigating the case.