No policemen charge-sheeted; PBI leaves them out despite video showing their involvement; ex-AL MP too not named

The Police Bureau of Investigation yesterday submitted a charge sheet, without naming any policemen, in the case over the attacks on Santals in Gaibandha more than two and a half years ago.

A video clip of that time, which was telecast on several television channels, showed that some police members were involved in torching Santal houses in the district’s Gobindaganj upazila in November 2016.

Even a police probe report, submitted to the High Court in March, 2017, found in-volvement of two policemen in setting fire to Santal houses.

Earlier in January that year, a judicial magistrate in a probe found involvement of three police personnel and some local miscreants in the incident.

Yesterday, the Santals in Gobindaganj upazila rejected the 50-page charge sheet against 90 people.

Ex-Sapmara Union Parishad Chairman Shakil Akhand Bulbul and member Shah Alam are among the charge-sheeted accused.

Several leaders of the Santal community said Abul Kalam Azad, former Awami League lawmaker from Gaibandha-4, and policemen were involved in the arson attacks but their names were not included in the charge sheet.

Abdul Hye Sarker, additional superintendent of police at the PBI, submitted the charge sheet to the Senior Judicial Magistrate’s Court which accepted it.

Later, around 300 Santals from Sahebganj-Bagda farm took position on Go-bindaganj-Dinajpur highway at Katabari and blocked it for four hours.

Voicing frustration, Philimon Baske, president of Sahebganj-Bagda Farm Bhumi Uddhar Sangram Committee, said, “The prime accused, ex-MP Abul Kalam Azad, and several others involved in the arson attack were not included in the charge sheet.

“The video clip showed their involvement in the heinous attack on us. We reject the charge sheet.”

Zafrul Islam, secretary of the committee, said, “Abul Kalam Azad was the main ac-cused in the case that we had filed. It included the names of 33 people and also 500 to 700 unnamed people.

“While the investigation was going on, we found out the attackers, and prepared a list of 250 involved in the attacks and murder of three Santal men, and torching, and looting of our houses.

“We have no confidence in the charge sheet,” he added.

The platform’s Organising Secretary Sufal Hembrom said, “[Former] MP Abul Kalam Azad was the main culprit, who ordered his cadres to torch our houses, and evict and murder our people. He was the mastermind but police intentionally left him out of the charge sheet.”

The Santal leaders demanded a fresh charge sheet incorporating the names of Azad and others involved in the attack.

They said they will move a no-confidence petition against the charge sheet and hold a press conference tomorrow.

The Daily Star tried to reach the former MP over his mobile phone several times but there was no response.

Contacted, Abdul Hye, one of the six PBI officials who carried out the probe, said that during the investigation, they didn’t find Azad’s links to the attacks.

Asked about the video footage that showed three policemen’s involvement in the arson attacks on Santal houses, the PBI official said they couldn’t confirm it from any sources.

He said the PBI submitted the charge sheet after a long probe. It also considered the reports of the earlier investigations.

The probe found that the charge-sheeted persons had been involved in torching and looting of Santal houses and killing of Santal men, he added.

The accused include Sapmara union parishad members Mosharraf Hossain, Ayub Ali and Shah Alam Sarker, Rangpur Sugar Mills General Manager Nazmul Huda and CBA (Collective Bargaining Agents) leader Mostafizur Rahman.

The charge sheet mentioned the names of 220 people as prosecution witnesses.

On November 6, 2016, a tripartite clash broke out between the Santals, Rangpur Sugar Mills staffers and police over eviction of the indigenous people from the disputed land at Shahebganj cane farm of the mills.

The clash left three Santal men dead and 20 others, including nine policemen, in-jured. Santal houses were looted and torched.

On behalf of the indigenous community, Swapan Murmu filed the case with Go-bindaganj Police Station on November 16 that year.

Later, the case was transferred to the PBI.

PREVIOUS PROBES

According to a police probe report submitted to the HC on March 10, 2017, two policemen — sub-inspector (Detective Branch) Mahbubur Rahman and Constable Sazzad Hossain of Gobindaganj Police Station — were involved in setting fire to Santal houses.

As per an earlier HC order, a three-member probe committee led by the additional deputy IGP (Rangpur range) submitted the report through the deputy attorney general.

The DAG told the court that the two policemen had been suspended.

Earlier on January 30, 2017, Gaibandha Chief Judicial Magistrate Mohammad Sha-hidullah submitted a probe report to the HC, stating that three police personnel and some local miscreants were involved in the arson attacks on Santal houses.

He carried out the probe following an HC order on December 14, 2016.

The court gave the directives after different national and global media outlets aired a video content in which a policeman in uniform and a man in a half-sleeve shirt are seen apparently joining another in a pink T-shirt in setting fire to a Santal shanty. The video clip went viral in the social media.

CAUSE OF DISPUTE

During the Pakistan rule in 1952, the government had acquired 1,840 acres of land at Shahebganj to set up a sugarcane farm.

The DC’s office acquired the land for the then Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation, which subsequently set up Rangpur (Mahimaganj) Sugar Mills be-tween 1954 and 1957.

In 1962, the DC office, on behalf of the land owners, signed an agreement with the corporation. The deal stated that the land was acquired for sugarcane cultiva-tion by the mill authorities. The corporation would return the land to the govern-ment if it was used for farming any other crop.

However, the deal was violated by the mill authorities as they leased out most of the land in 2004 for cultivation of rice, wheat, mustard, tobacco and maize.

The Santals reportedly started building houses on the land after they learnt that the mill authorities were planting other crops illegally.

The Daily Star learnt from old documents that Santals owned most of the land be-fore the government acquired it in the 1950s.

[Our Gaibandha and Bogura correspondents contributed to this report]