United News of Bangladesh

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam on Tuesday said that out of 1,760 cases filed over last year’s anti-discrimination movement, charge sheets have so far been submitted in only 55 cases, while the remaining cases are still under investigation. The IGP disclosed the information at a press briefing held at the police headquarters. He said police, under section 173-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), have already recommended relief for 136 people found primarily innocent, and courts have granted them exemption from the charges. Applications for another 236 individuals are currently under consideration. Of the total cases, 766 are murder cases and 974 fall under other sections. Among the 55 cases where charge sheets have been filed, 18 are murder cases indicting 1,941 accused, while the remaining 37 cases involve 2,185 accused. The IGP said the charge sheets in the 18 murder cases were submitted in Dhaka, Chattogram, Sherpur, Feni, Chandpur, Noakhali, Pabna, Kurigram, Bogura and Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP) areas. The other 37 charge-sheeted cases are from Bogura, Chapainawabganj, Sirajganj, Naogaon, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Narsingdi and Barguna districts. Govt okays procurement of 40,000 body cameras for police use during polls He added that senior officers are supervising the investigations, while also mentoring junior officers who are not yet fully capable of handling complex probes on their own. On allegations of false cases and harassment, the IGP acknowledged that in some instances innocent people were wrongfully accused. “The government has introduced a legal provision to provide relief to such individuals even before charge sheets are filed.” He assured that police headquarters is taking measures to ensure no innocent person faces harassment, and warned that action would be taken against any officer found involved in malpractice. The IGP also urged those who consider themselves innocent to apply under section 173-A so their cases can be reviewed and forwarded to the court for exemption.

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq on Tuesday said the government will consider BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s appeal to go abroad for medical treatment if she makes a fresh petition after returning to jail. “No fresh order can be given over a solved petition anymore. If she applies again after going to jail, then we will consider it. But there is no scope to consider any fresh step under the section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in these circumstances,” he told Parliament. The Law Minister said this replying to the remarks of BNP MP Rumeen Farhana during the discussion over a proposal to send the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Opposition (Remuneration and Privileges) Bill, 2021 to the Scrutiny Committee. Read: Khaleda critically ill, says Fakhrul During the discussion, Rumeen demanded the government allow Khaleda Zia to go abroad for medical treatment considering her physical condition. The BNP MP said the government has the authority to give Khaleda Zia the scope under section 401 of CrPC. Anisul Huq suggested Rumeen Farhana to see the decisions given under the same section of CrPC in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.