Bangladesh: Police official among 8 sued for killing US expatriate Shafayet
Shafayet Mahbub Faraizi’s mother Shamimum Nahar Lipi filed the case with Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) court in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Other accused mentioned in the case are Vatara Police Station sub-inspector Md Moshiur, Dhaka’s Indira Road resident Suzana Tabassum Salam, Md Aftab, Mohammad Qamrul Huq, Mohammad Aswad, Sakhawat and Ripon.
Besides, several other unidentified persons made accused in the case.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Arafatul Raquib recorded the statement of the plaintiff while lawyers Md Sarwar Hossain Nazmin Sultana held hearing for accepting the case. The court said it would issue an order later on.
It was mentioned in the case statement that Shafayet Mahbub Faraizi was a citizen of Bangladesh by birth. He came to Bangladesh from the United States on September 29 last. His friends Suzana, Aftab, Sakhawat and Aswad used to come to his residence in Dhaka. They used to take sedative-laced drinks. At one stage, Shafayet and his mother asked them not to come to their residence. Being angry, they came to Shafayet’s residence on November 23 last and beat them up. When they called at 999, police went their residence and brought the situation under control.
The case statement reads that on December 10 last, the plaintiff and her son went to Gulshan where they came under attack. The attackers assaulted also them.
When they went Gulshan Police Station to lodge a general diary, the police said, “Suzana Tabassum Salam’s syndicate is very bad. Police is unable to register any GD against her.”
On Christmas Day on December 25 last year, the plaintiff’s son went outside their residence. When he was returning home at about 11:00pm, Suzana Tabassum and her friends also came their residence. The plaintiff became furious witnessing them. Later, Shafayet went outside to bid his four friends goodbye but he didn’t return home anymore. After two days–on December 27–Shafayet’s body was recovered from ‘Nova Manzil’, a house at Paschim Noorer Chala under Vatara Police Station. The house belongs to the accused Suzana.
On January 1, the body of Shafayet was handed over to his family after postmortem at Shahid Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital. After burial of the body on January 3, the plaintiff went to Vatara Police Station to file a murder case. Instead of accepting the case, assistant police commissioner Toyaser Jahan and sub-inspector Moshiur declined to register the case intimidating the plaintiff. The two police officials also took the plaintiff’s signature on a blank paper after recovery of the dead body of Shafayet earlier. The signature was taken forcibly.
During the hearing, the plaintiff on Wednesday told the court that she had suspicion that the police officials of Vatara Police Station might be involved in the murder of her son. If it is not, why they barred her to file the case? The plaintiff said she thinks that the mystery would be unearthed if a proper investigation is conducted. The plaintiff also sought justice from the court.
