Police custody means protection, not death

In Bangladesh, ordinary people fear the police and try to stay away from them. However, the police are supposed to be friends of the public. Let me first share two examples of this friendship. A few days ago, a thief went to a market to steal from a shop. However, by the time he had gathered the stolen goods, dawn had broken, and people started arriving. Hearing the noise of the people around, the thief got scared. He was afraid that if people found him inside the shop, they would beat him to death. The cunning thief called 999 and asked for police assistance. The police came and rescued the thief from inside the shop. Later, of course, he was arrested, but he was saved because the police arrived in time. If the market people had caught him, he would have been beaten to death.

In movies, we often see villains seeking refuge with the police to escape the hero's vengeance. Even the villain believes that while the hero might kill him, the police will at least not kill him; they will follow the legal process.

Now, let me share a personal experience. About twenty years ago, I went on a trip to the Sylhet region with my family. The plan was to stay one night in Sreemangal on the way back and return to Dhaka after visiting the tea gardens the next day. However, we couldn't find a good hotel to stay in Sreemangal at night. Eventually, we decided to head back to Dhaka that night instead. We set out from Sreemangal towards Dhaka around 9 PM. I had no idea about the route. As soon as we left the town, it was a deserted road, surrounded by tea gardens and hills, and pitch dark. There were no other cars on the road except ours. My wife and child were with me in the car. We all had mixed feelings. The road was incredibly beautiful and had a unique atmosphere, but it was also eerily frightening. I was reassuring my wife and child that there was nothing to fear, but I was actually scared myself. I felt that if we encountered robbers in this situation, it would take three days for anyone to find us. We would be in trouble if the car broke down for any reason. There was no settlement around. As I kept driving, we eventually reached the Dhaka-Sylhet highway. That’s when we all breathed a sigh of relief. Soon after, we saw a highway police checkpoint. They were stopping and checking suspicious vehicles. Believe it or not, I had never felt so relieved to see the police.

I feel empathy for the police when I see them on duty. Everyone else has fixed office hours. The police have no such schedule. They have to work at all times and take risks continuously. When everyone else runs away, the police have to go to that place. During the pandemic, when a child abandoned their mother in the jungle, the police rushed to rescue the mother. While everyone was staying at home during the pandemic, the police were still outside. In all kinds of weather—storms, rain, sun—the traffic police are always on the streets. The nature of police duty makes me feel they are more than just ordinary humans. In fights, murders, strikes, and vandalism, the police are always at the forefront. After working under inhuman conditions all day, regular police members spend the night in the inhumane environment of Rajarbagh Police Lines. Police duty is always essential. Unlike many other professions, the police do not even get regular holidays.

Day after day of such inhumane duty likely erodes the humanity of the police. Their emotions become numb from witnessing constant killings, bloodshed, and dead bodies. Someone’s cries or death do not affect them anymore. This is why people fear them. Of course, there is no other choice but to fear them. The police have the law in their hands, and the reach of the law is extensive. If you think you haven’t committed any crime and therefore have nothing to fear, you are mistaken. The police can frame any innocent person if they want to. There are many cases in police stations where a few suspects are named, along with many unnamed individuals. The police can add your name as an unnamed suspect in any case if they wish. They can plant drugs in your pocket and pick you up from the street. As the saying goes, "if a tiger touches you, you get eighteen wounds; if the police touch you, you get thirty-six wounds." If the police get hold of you for any reason, your life is over. You might get arrested over a minor incident in your neighborhood, but your life will change. You will be entangled in one case after another for theft, robbery, dacoity, murder. The easiest way for the police to make money is to bring someone to the station and extort money from their family. Money to avoid being beaten, money to be beaten less, money to be released—your financial capability will determine how the police treat you.

When the police take someone into custody, beating them seems to be a common occurrence. If taken on remand, third-degree torture is almost expected and accepted. However, no stage of the law permits anyone to lay hands on another. The police can arrest any suspect or accused in any case, but they cannot beat them. The police's duty is to present the arrested individual before the court within 24 hours. The court may grant bail, send them to jail, or even remand them for further interrogation. The police can question the suspect further while on remand but cannot beat them to extract information. After the trial, the court can acquit the accused, sentence them to imprisonment, or even death. From arrest to trial, there is no provision for physical torture.

Yet, incidents of torture in police custody are rampant. The police extract confessions as they wish by beating the suspects. Fearful of the police, suspects even give confessional statements to the magistrate, although they often retract these statements in court. Once in Narayanganj, a man confessed to killing a missing person under police torture. Later, it turned out that the supposedly murdered person was alive. The police have both the law and weapons at their disposal. They can turn day into night and make a mountain out of a molehill.

Occasionally, I see in the newspapers the term “death in police custody.” This term strikes me as strange. Custody means protecting someone. When you take someone into custody, your responsibility is to ensure their utmost safety. If someone dies in your custody, you must take full responsibility. However, the opposite happens in Bangladesh. Once the police take someone into custody, the beating starts. As mentioned earlier, the extent of the beating depends on your family’s financial capacity. If the beating is too severe, it can result in death. After the U.S. sanctions on the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the number of extrajudicial killings and deaths in police custody has significantly decreased in Bangladesh, but it hasn't stopped completely. In reality, the police may not intend to kill, but severe beatings or unexpected blows can lead to death.

Last Sunday (June 2), it was reported that a woman died in police custody at Abhaynagar Police Station in Jashore. She was arrested from Nawapara village in the early hours of Saturday night. The police claim that the woman, named Afroza Begum, was arrested with 30 yaba tablets. At around 8:20 AM on Sunday, Afroza Begum fell ill in the police station lockup and was taken to the Abhaynagar Upazila Health Complex for treatment. After initial treatment, she was brought back to the station. Around 9:45 AM, she fell ill again and was taken back to the health complex. Later, she was transferred to Jashore General Hospital for advanced treatment, where the doctor declared her dead at around 11:30 AM.

We do not know what kind of torture she endured from midnight to the morning. We only know that a healthy, normal woman died within 10 hours of being taken into custody. Whether Afroza Begum was innocent or truly involved in yaba trafficking, we do not know. Let’s assume she was indeed involved in yaba trafficking; however, the punishment for being caught with 30 yaba tablets is certainly not death. As usual, the police claim that she was not tortured at the station, but the deceased's child claims that the police started torturing her from the moment of her arrest. She was allegedly hung from a fan at home and beaten. When the child tried to intervene, the police slapped them too.

No one will believe that the police did not beat her after bringing her to the station at night. Bangladesh's human rights situation already faces various allegations and criticisms internationally. This cruelty by the police will further compound our problems. We demand that those responsible for Afroza's death be brought under the law and given strict punishment. We want the rule of law, not torture and death in legal custody.

Prabhash Amin: Columnist and Head of News, ATN News