ANOTHER custodial death has been reported at a time when the role of the law enforcement agencies is questioned for their abuse of power and involvement in custodial torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killing. A man died in custody of the Hatirjheel police in Dhaka on August 20, hours after he had been detained from Rampura in a theft case. The family of the victim claims that the police have tortured him to death and passed it off as suicide. Local people say that the police have assaulted the man and misbehaved with the family at the time of arrest. The family further alleges that the police sent them to court when the man had already died and the body sent for a post-mortem examination. Several hundred people demonstrated near the police station, demanding justice. The police, meanwhile, said that the victim had committed suicide inside the lock-up. They, however, suspended a sub-inspector and a constable for their negligence in duty and set up an investigation committee. Recurring cases of custodial torture make it evident that the law enforcement agencies mandated to keep law and order have become a major cause of public sufferings.

This is, however, not the first reported case of custodial death in August. Another man died in Dhaka Medical College Hospital on August 17 while he was in the custody of the Detective Branch. Ain O Salish Kendra data show that at least nine people died in police custody in the first seventh months of 2022. The number is much higher, as many rights activists suggest, because victims often do not report custodial torture in fear of reprisal. In the cases where investigations are set out, reports are not submitted in time; even if reports are submitted, they are never made public. On rare occasions, when victim families file cases under the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act 2013, they seldom get justice. Since the enactment of the law, at least 54 individuals have died in custody; but, there is only one instance of conviction. In investigation of custodial torture allegations, ranking police officials, as has been the case at hand, are given the responsibility of investigation, leading to a likely conflict of interest that risks credible investigation. Jurists, lawyers and rights defenders have for long demanded an independent commission to investigate crimes of the law enforcement agencies.

Suspending accused officers is not enough to end the criminal misconduct of law enforcers. The government must, therefore, ensure an impartial investigation of the reported custodial death and take legal action against the accused if allegations are proved. It must also consider the demand for an independent police complaint commission to deal with cases of custodial torture, enforced disappearances and other similar rights violations.