Shuvo's death: Members of girlfriend’s family allegedly involved in DB operation

The family members of Faisal Khan Shuvo, a youth who died following a raid of Detective Branch (DB) of police in Mymensingh, have claimed that his death was a ‘planned murder’.

They alleged that the family members of Shuvo's girlfriend committed the murder joining hands with the DB, throwing him down from the fifth floor.

The district police have formed an investigation committee into the incident.

Shuvo’s family members said 2-3 days before the murder, family members of Shuvo's girlfriend were seen roaming around the house. As the persons involved in the murder have not been arrested, Shuvo’s family members expressed doubt whether they would get justice.

During a recent visit at Shuvo’s house in the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) industrial city area at Maskanda in Mymensingh city, it was found that the five-storied house is situated beside a lake.

The lake is to the south of the house, and there is an empty space on the east side with a boundary. That is where Faisal Khan Shuvo was 'dumped'.

However, the DB claimed that they returned after not finding Shuvo at home during the raid on that day.

Mymensingh District Superintendent of Police Azizul Islam said, “A three-member investigation committee, headed by Mymensingh Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Ops) Md Shamim Hossain, has been formed to determine whether there was any negligence on the part of the police regarding the death of Shuvo. Action will be taken based on the report.”

Faisal Khan Shuvo's brother-in-law Mohsinul Haque said, “Shuvo had a love affair with a young woman from the same area. A distance was created in their relationship when her marriage was fixed with someone else. When Faisal wanted to stop the marriage, the young woman's father filed a complaint with the police station and DB police under the Pornography Act on November 10.”

“On the same day, DB police raided our house where Shuvo resided around 9:30 pm. Two outsiders were present during the DB raid. One of them was the young woman's maternal cousin. After the DB raid, Shuvo was found unconscious in front of the house. He was rescued and admitted to the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital in Dhaka, where he died on November 15. During the raid, the young woman's cousin and another unidentified young man accompanied the DB team,” he added.

On the night of November 12, Shuvo's father Salim Khan filed an attempt to murder case with Kotwali Model Police Station over Shuvo’s injury. Six people, including the girl's father, and five other unidentified persons were accused in the case. The case statement alleged that the accused threw him down from the roof with the intention of killing him.

A CCTV footage during the DB police operation shows Mohsinul Haque opening the collapsible gate below the house at 9:38 pm on November 10. At that time, four people wearing DB police uniforms and four without any uniform went up the stairs to the second floor. One of the people without uniforms had a walkie-talkie in his hand.

Shuvo’s family members claimed that a total of six policemen took part in the operation and one of the other two persons was Shuvo’s girlfriend’s maternal cousin Asif Saifullah.

DB Police SI Sohrab Uddin, who led the operation, said, "In response to the complaint, we six policemen went to the house. But we are not aware of the two people who were seen with us in the CCTV video. Maybe they could have sneaked into our operation."

Informing that they did not go to the roof, he said, “When we entered the house and heard that Shuvo was not there, we left. After a day, we heard that Faisal had fallen from the roof and was injured. It is possible that he slipped while trying to get down from the roof out of fear of the police.”