A Joypurhat court has ordered legal action against nine individuals, in connection with the killing of Shafinur Islam Shafin in a "crossfire" incident while in Rab custody in 2016, that the family is now claiming was a fake encounter resulting in Shafin's extrajudicial killing.
The accused include the then-director general of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), Benazir Ahmed, who retired as IGP, and then-Police Superintendent Molla Nazrul Islam.
The directive comes as part of a case filed eight years after the incident, seeking justice for the death.
The case was filed on Sunday by Nazrul Islam, father of the deceased, from Chokmohan village in Joypurhat's Sadar upazila.
In total, the case involves 25 accused individuals, with the court initially focusing on the first nine named in the complaint. Senior District and Sessions Judge Md. Mojibur Rahman instructed that legal measures be taken against the nine, ordering the Police Superintendent to report back within 24 hours.
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In addition to Benazir and Nazrul, the others against whom the court ordered action include Major Hasan Arafat of the Joypurhat Rab camp, deputy assistant director (DAD) Md Firoz Ali Khan, sub-inspector (SI) Enamul Haque, DAD Mahfuzar Rahman, SI Debashish Nandi of Sadar Police Station, Rab Naik Habibur Rahman, and Constable Mehedi Hasan. All the posts mentioned date from the time of the incident.
According to the case details, the incident began on September 26, 2016, when members of the Joypurhat Rap camp arrested Shafinur Islam Shafin around 9pm from Dhaka's Uttara area.
Approximately one month later, on the night of October 25, at around 9:30 pm, Shafin was reportedly shot and killed at an abandoned paddy field owned by Helal in Dadaura Nandigram, Joypurhat Sadar upazila.
Plaintiff's lawyer, Adv Mahfuzur Rahman Helal, informed the press that the court had acknowledged the allegations against the first nine accused and had ordered the Joypurhat SP to take legal action accordingly. The court mandated that the SP update it on the steps taken within a 24-hour period.
Speaking over the phone, SP Muhammad Abdul Wahab confirmed that "legal action is being taken as per the court's directive."