The High Court (HC) on Sunday remarked that realising confessional statement by force [from an accused] is not only a mistake but also a serious crime.
The HC bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim and Justice Md Atoar Rahman made the remark.
The HC bench also reprimanded a police officer for realising confessional statement by force from a minor boy who was charged with the murder of his eight-year-old brother in Bogura in 2015.
Lawyers said the court could not be satisfied with the explanation from police officer Nayan Kumar, a sub-inspector at Sariakandi Police Station in Bogura district [now a CID inspector in Natore district] and the then investigation officer (IO) of the case.
"Nayan Kumar had committed a serious crime by realising confessional statement from the minor boy forcibly. He had done it quite deliberately. It's not just an act of negligence but also a serious crime," said the High Court. "Is it believable that a minor would kill his younger brother?"
Deputy Attorney General Sarwar Hossain, appearing for the state, requested the court to consider it as a 'mistake.'
He argued that the police officer was part of the prosecution. However, the court said he did it with a motive.
The case statement says that the body of an 8-year-old minor was found at Sariakandi in Bogura district on August 25, 2015. A day after, his father Mohidul Islam filed a case with the Sariakandi police station.
On November 29, police detained the deceased's elder brother, a 12-year-old minor, took him to police station for questioning. On the following day, the boy was also produced before the Bogura Senior Judicial Magistrate's Court where he gave confessional statement.
The boy told the magistrate that "he had killed his younger brother because his parents showed much affection to him."
Later, the court granted him bail as he was a minor, but asked him to appear at each hearing before the court as he was a suspect.
However, his father alleged that the "killers of his son were influential locally. Taking bribes from them, police forced his elder son to give confessional statement."
Then the first IO Nayan Kumar submitted a chargesheet to the court showing the elder brother as the lone accused. But, father Mohidul Islam opposed it. Then the court directed the Bogura office of Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to investigate the case.
After four years of investigation, the PBI said the elder brother was "innocent." Besides, the PBI arrested two other persons who were allegedly involved in the murder.
In such a situation, sub-inspector Mansur Ali of the PBI, who is also the IO of the case, submitted a chargesheet against two new accused relieving the 12-year-old elder brother of the victim from the case.
On June 11 this year, five lawyers of the Supreme Court filed a petition to the High Court along with a report headlined "Bearing the unbearable" published in an English daily. In their petition, they also pleaded to the High Court to summon the two police officials who worked as IO of the case.
The High Court fixed August 3 for the hearing and then summoned Nayan Kumar, the former IO, and current IO Mansur Ali to be present with case documents during the hearing. However, normal proceedings at the High Court were suspended on that day due to lockdown. Later, the HC bench fixed Sunday (August 22) for the hearing. Receiving the order, both of them were present at the court.
Meantime, SI Nayan Kumar pleaded for unconditional apology. The Deputy Attorney General placed his prayer. At that time, the bench made the above mentioned remark.
Advocate Shishir Monir, the petitioners' lawyer, said the police officer Nayan Kumar appeared before the court and also sought an unconditional apology.
However, the court did not accept Nayan Kumar's written apology and said an order would be issued on this during the next hearing on September 6.
The court asked the bench officer to collect a photocopy of the case documents from the IO Mansur Ali and to place it before the judges in the next hearing.
SZA
