Please - Odhikar

Mr. Mallik Sayeed Mahbub, the Upzila Nirbahi Officer told Odhikar that the OC of Homna
Police Station informed him about the news of Hanif's death over telephone on the night of May
11. The next day morning he found Hanif's deceased body hanging in the toilet of the custody.
He made the inquest report of the deceased. According to this report, the eyes of the corpse were
closed and about an inch of the front part of his tongue was sticking out. His tongue had been
bitten and his mouth was emitting saliva. He found a minor injury on Hanif's left elbow. "I could
not say anything about what actually happened until I have received the postmortem report," the
UNO said. While investigating the toilet where Hanif had hung himself, Odhikar's fact-finding
team found the toilet door intact, though the OC told them that he had broken it to open. The
custody was about nine feet high. The water tap of the toilet was one and a half feet from the
floor. As the police stated, to hang himself Hanif had fasten his 'lungi' with the rod by standing
on the water tap which was a half feet from the floor. According to the inquest report, the height
of the corpse was five feet and four inches which was slightly contradictory with the situation
narrated by the police officials.
Death of a worker in Gazipur
Odhikar sent a fact finding team to collect detail information about the incident of the death of a
worker by police torture at Kaliyakore in Gazipur. The incident was reported in different
national dailies of May 21, 2005. During the fact finding Odhikar talked to the victim's wife,
brother, neighbors, police and the concerned hospital authorities.
Odhikar's fact-finding team came to know that the deceased, Anil Chandra Sharker was the son
of late Maharay from the village of Syedpur under the police station of Kaliyakore. He was
married and had a son of five months. He had been working as a transport-worker in Shafipur at
Gazipur.
When Odhikar's fact finders went to Anil's house, they found his wife Kalpana Rani (22), had
been ailing since the death of her husband. While talking to Odhikar, she grieved over her
husband's death and worried about her son's future. Anil had tried to save his brother Sushil from
police arrestr. Sushil was not available during Odhikar's fact finding. Odhikar was apprised that
Sushil was absconding in fear of arrest. However, Odhikar was able to talk to him when he was
told about the fact finders and came to see them.
Sushil (35) informed Odhikar taht at around 3 am on May 11, 2005 the police awakened him
from sleep and asked him to go to the police station with them. There were four policemen in the
squad. Two policemen pulled him by the collar while taking him to the police station, he added.
At that time their neighbor, Halima alias Falani (30) was with them. Pointing to Halima a
policeman said to him, "You have had sexual intercourse with this woman so we are taking you
to the police station." When they were a short distance from the house, Sushil's younger brother
Anil came and requested the police to free his brother. At that time he heard Anil's screams
behind him when two policemen pushed him forward. Afterwards, the police took him to the
police station. Some important persons of his locality came to release him from the police
station, and it was then that he came to know that Anil had been admitted to the Mirzapur
Kumudini Hospital in a deteriorating condition. When he went to see him in the hospital, the
Report 2005
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