Charges pressed against SI Akbar, five others

SYLHET, May 5: Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) on Wednesday submitted a charge sheet against five policemen, including suspended sub-inspector Akbar Hossain Bhuiyan and a so-call journalist, in a case filed over the killing of Rayhan in police custody in Sylhet last year.
PBI Inspector Awlad Hossain, also the investigation officer (IO) of the case, submitted the charge sheet to Sylhet Court Inspector Pradeep Kumar Das around 11:00am.
The other charge-sheeted accused are SI Hasan Uddin, ASI Ashek Elahi, constables Titu Chandra Das and Harunur Rashid, and so-called journalist Abdullah Al Noman.
The 34-year-old Rayhan, a resident of Akhalia in Sylhet city, was allegedly tortured to death in custody of Bandar Bazar police outpost on October 11, 2020.
The victim's family alleged that Rayhan was beaten to death by police after detention. But, police claimed that an angry mob had beaten Rayhan to death suspecting him a robber.Rayhan's wife Tahmina Akhter filed a case with Kotwali Model Police Station under the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act the following day.
On October 12, four police personnel, including SI Akbar, were suspended while three others withdrawn in connection with the death.
A forensic medical board of Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, in its second autopsy report, said Rayhan had died due to injuries he sustained from a blunt weapon.
In the first autopsy report, doctors  said there were 111 injury marks on Rayhan's body and two of his nails were pulled out.
A probe body of Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP) also found the truth of the torture. SI Akbar, the then in-charge of Bandar Bazar police outpost, and three police personnel were suspended on October 12 while three others were also withdrawn from the outpost.
Akbar fled custody on October 13 and was arrested at Dona border in Kanaighat upazila on November 9.