HC orders N'ganj DC to investigate 'wrongful jailing'
The High Court yesterday ordered the Narayanganj deputy commissioner to investigate an allegation of imprisoning a man mistaken to be a murder convict and submit a report to it in this regard by July 30.
The imprisoned man, Zakir Hossain, was produced before the HC bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik and Justice ABM Altaf Hossain yesterday as per its June 21 order.
On that day, the HC bench had also issued a rule asking the officials concerned to explain in two weeks why keeping the man detained should not be declared illegal.
The rule came following a newspaper report placed before the court by Advocate KM Saifuddin.
The report headlined, “Ekjoner jabojjibon khatchhen onnojon” (one man's life sentence is being served by another), was published in the Bangla daily Bangladesh Protidin that day.
The report says Md Zakir Hossain, son of Shamsul Haque of Hathkholapara under Araihazar thana in Narayanganj, was serving the jail sentence of another man, Zakir Hossain, son of Shamsuddin of Beparipara village of the thana.
The sentence came over the murder of one, Bikchan Mia, by some muggers at Bajobi of Araihazar on November 11, 1991.
Police had submitted a charge-sheet implicating Shamsuddin's son Zakir in May, 1992 and the District and Sessions Judge of Narayanganj passed the sentence on November 23, 1996 with the convict in absentia, said the report.
Afterwards, police, on December 10, 2007, arrested Md Zakir while the real convict remained at large, it added.
Yesterday, Zakir told the HC bench that he was arrested by police on November 27, 2007 from the capital's Paltan area and he had no idea about the conviction.
Deputy Attorney General Amit Talukder read out a letter from Kashimpur Jail Senior Jail Super Jahangir Kabir before the court. In it, Jahangir stated that police had confirmed the identification of the imprisoned man.
Afterwards, the HC bench asked the authorities concerned of Narayanganj District and Sessions Judge's Court to submit the case record before it by July 30 and the jail authorities to produce the man before it that day.
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