A student of Faridpur Law College died in the custody of the Detective Branch of police in Faridpur on Sunday morning, hours after being arrested.

The deceased is Mirza Ishtiaq Ahmed Pranto, 24, son of the late Mirza Iskander, a resident of Gondardia area under the Madhukhali municipality in Faridpur.

Family members alleged that Ishtiaq was killed due to police torture, an allegation the police denied.

He was the sole earning member of his family after his father’s death in 2011, as he used to work in a sugar mill while continuing his studies, family members said.

Faridpur district superintendent of police Md Nazrul Islam claimed that Ishtiaq died while undergoing treatment at Faridpur Medical College Hospital on Sunday morning.

Quoting physicians, the police official said that he died of a brain haemorrhage and that no signs of torture were found.

‘We have formed a three-member internal probe body headed by the additional SP (administration) to find out the actual cause of death,’ Nazrul said, claiming that the police had not been involved in custodial torture in recent times.

The deceased’s uncle, Mohammad Shakawat Hossain Mintu, alleged that his nephew was arrested by DB police from in front of his house using a microbus and a CNG-run auto-rickshaw.

‘DB police claimed that they found marijuana on him. He was later taken to his house, where a search operation was conducted by a 14-member team. The police mercilessly beat Ishtiaq and his mother as well,’ Shakawat told New Age.

He said that if the police recovered any illegal items from his nephew, they would have produced him before court, and the court would decide on legal action.

According to the rights group Ain o Salish Kendra’s data, at least four deaths in police custody have been reported since January this year, and this is the first such death after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government assumed office on February 17.

The ASK, in a statement, expressed deep concern over Ishtiaq’s death and demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter.

Faridpur district DB officer-in-charge Md Alamgir Hossain said that Ishtiaq was arrested on Saturday night at Gondardia village with 100 grams of marijuana and was then taken to the Madhukhali police station.

‘Following an anti-drug drive, the deceased and four others arrested were taken into the custody of the district DB police at about 4:00am on Sunday. Ishtiaq fell ill after offering prayers and having food,’ Alamgir said.

He said that Ishtiaq was taken to Faridpur Sadar Hospital at about 5:00am and later shifted to Faridpur Medical College Hospital, where he breathed his last between 7:30am and 7:45am.

The DB officer-in-charge claimed that they did not torture him.