TWO cases against law enforcers on allegations of custodial torture and extortion raise serious questions about holding errant personnel accountable for procedural violations and corrupt and violent conduct. A trader in Dhaka filed a complaint on February 14 with the court under the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act, levelling allegations against four, including two Detective Branch personnel, of torturing him in custody and forcing him to sign 76 bank cheques worth Tk 60 crore. One of the officers accused has reportedly extorted Tk 2 crore for bail. The accused, however, brushed aside the allegations. On February 5, a similar complaint of custodial torture and extortion was filed with the complaint cell at the police headquarters by another trader of Old Town in Dhaka. The complainant said that he was tortured in the custody of Chawkbazar police and was released after the payment of Tk 15 lakh. Recurring incidents of custodial torture and police involvement in extortion suggests that any mechanism to address such issues has been ineffective.

It is assuring that the victims have come forward and filed complaints. In most cases, victims and families hesitate to seek legal redress as it would mean further harassment and intimidation. Many consider the protracted legal battle financially and emotionally tenuous, especially when justice is seldom meted out in such cases. Since the enactment of the law in 2013, about 80 individuals have died from custodial torture, but there is only one instance of conviction. In September 2020, in the first known judgement under the act, a court in Dhaka found three police officers guilty of custodial torture of a young man. The system appears rather unwilling to ensure final justice for the man as the verdict still awaits its full implementation. One main pitfall of the act and complaint mechanism is that it expects the law enforcement agencies to investigate its own members, risking the possibility of credible and impartial investigation. The act also puts a certain responsibility on magistrates and judges to take action against officers responsible for inflicting torture on any person. Hardly ever the new provision has been put to action.

The government must, therefore, ensure a judicious investigation of the cases filed by the two traders. It should also heed the demand of jurists, lawyers and human rights defenders to set up an independent commission to investigate crimes committed by law enforcers. The allegation of police involvement in extortion through cases of wrongful arrest, as alleged in the cases at hand, must also be investigated with equal importance. An investigation commission alone cannot improve the situation unless the government systematically attends to unresolved cases of police violence and criminal conduct.