Registrar of Nat’l Instt of Mental Health held, remanded for 2 days

Dr Abdullah Al Mamun, registrar of National Institute of  Mental Health and Hospital (NIMH), was arrested yesterday in connection with the  death of senior ASP Anisul Karim, who was allegedly beaten to death by  staffers of a private mental hospital.

Mamun is also one of the directors of Mind Aid Psychiatry and De-Addiction Hospital.

Harun Ar Rashid, deputy commissioner (Tejgaon division) of Dhaka  Metropolitan Police, said a team of police picked him up from in front of  NIMH around 10:30am for interrogation, reports our staff correspondent.

He was placed on a two-day   remand  after he was produced before the court of Dhaka Metropolitan   Magistrate Md Shahidul Islam with a 10-day remand prayer.

"We arrested him in connection with the case as he could not provide justifiable answers during interrogation," he said. The police official said Mamun referred Anisul to Mind Aid hospital where he was "beaten to death" on November 9.

With him, at least 13 people have so far been arrested in the case. Police said the hospital was being run without clearance and licence from related government departments. The facility was closed by police later.

Anisul's father Faijuddin Ahmed filed the case with Adabor Police  Station on Tuesday, accusing 15 people, including five shareholders of  the hospital, for murdering his son.

According to family members, Anisul had been admitted to the hospital on November 9.

2 MORE 'CONFESS'

Yesterday, two  more employees of  Mind Aid hospital confessed before a magistrate to their involvement in the  death of Anisul, reports our court correspondent.

The employees are: pharmacist Md Tanvir Hasan and ward boy Tanif Mollah.

Dhaka   Metropolitan Magistrate Debbrata Biswas recorded their confessional   statements after Md Faruk Mollah, inspector of Adabar Police Station and   also the case's investigation officer, produced them.

In their statements, they told the magistrate that they, along with other employees, beat the victim, according to court sources.

Further details of the confessional statements could not be known immediately. After recording their statements, the magistrate sent them to Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj.

Earlier,   four arrestees -- marketing manager Mahmud Joy, hospital cook   Masud Khan, ward boys Asim Chandra Pal and Sajib Chowdhury -- confessed   to their involvement.

Hospital   director Dr Md Niaz Morshed was arrested on November 10 from the   capital's National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital, where he was   undergoing treatment for paralysis. Another director Fatema Khatun Moyna (41) is now on a four-day remand in the case.

The other directors -- Sakhawat Hossain and Sazzad Amin -- are on the run.

Six other arrestees are now on seven-day remand each in the case.