More than three years have passed since the death of Naogaon’s Sultana Jasmine in Rapid Action Battalion custody, but no criminal case has been filed yet.
The High Court rule questioning the legality of Rab’s action in detaining Jasmine also remains unresolved.
Sultana Jasmine, 41, a land office employee, was picked up and detained by Rab on March 22, 2023. She died in Rab custody at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital two days later. Rab officers reportedly told doctors at the time that Jasmine had suffered a fall.
Md Nazmul Haque Mantu, maternal uncle of Jasmine, told The Daily Star over the phone that they did not file a case as the family had received an indirect threat after the incident, discouraging them from pursuing legal action.
Sultana Jasmine, 41, a land office employee, was picked up and detained by Rab on March 22, 2023. She died in Rab custody at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital two days later.
“One person [Jasmine] has already died; we did not want to put ourselves at further risk,” he said.
Jasmine did not have a case against her at the time of detention. She was sued under the then-controversial Digital Security Act, a day after being picked up, on allegations of “siphoning off money from job seekers using a Facebook account”.
“She died due to torture in Rab custody. She had an injury mark on her head. Before detention, she was perfectly healthy,” her son Shahed Hossain Saikat, a student of Chittagong University, had told the media at that time.
Jasmine’s “murder” in Naogaon tarnished the image of the country, Rab and the government, the then Rab director general M Khurshid Hossain reportedly told the then parliamentary standing committee on the home ministry on April 5, 2023.
“The [local] camp was involved in it. The battalion or the headquarters knew nothing,” he said.
Following a petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Manoj Kumar Bhowmick, the High Court bench of Justice Farah Mahbub, who is now an SC judge, and Justice Muhammad Mahbub Ul Islam issued a rule on April 5, 2023 asking the government to explain why Jasmine’s detention without a case should not be declared illegal and unconstitutional.
The HC at the time also asked them to explain why they should not be directed to take action against the Rab members who had detained her.
The HC bench also directed the cabinet secretary to form a high-powered committee to investigate the incident. The then government’s probe body submitted its report on August 17, 2023 to the HC bench led by Justice Farah Mahbub.
On October 15 the same year, the bench termed the probe committee’s report vague and unsatisfactory as it had failed to give any description of her arrest or any specific findings. It also fixed November 29, 2024 for the rule hearing.
However, the jurisdiction of the bench led by Justice Farah Mahbub was later reconstituted by the then chief justice Obaidul Hassan as “routine work”. The HC is yet to hold the hearing on the rule and deliver its verdict, said Bhowmick.
Bhowmick said he would mention the matter before another HC bench at a convenient time for hearing and disposal of the rule.
Contacted on May 8, Additional Attorney General Md Arshadur Rouf said he would enquire about the HC rule and then take necessary decision on the matter.
