Police authorities have taken disciplinary action against eight officers in Rangpur, suspending them due to alleged negligence in their official duties, following a brutal lynching incident.
In a rare move, eight police personnel, including two sub-inspectors, were suspended in Bangladesh for alleged negligence during a lynching incident in Rangpur district. The incident, which took place on the Taraganj-Kazirhat road in Bottola around 9:30pm on 9 August, resulted in the brutal deaths of two local residents, Alamgir Hossain and Mehedi Hasan.
The suspensions were issued by Rangpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Abu Saim on 13 August, following an investigation into the incident. The officers, including sub-inspectors Abu Zobayer and Shafiqul Islam, and six constables, were accused of dereliction of duty and inaction, as their failure to act contributed to the inability to protect the victims from the mob.
The charges against the suspended officers specifically relate to negligence of duty and inaction. They were on duty at the time of the attack but failed to prevent or intervene effectively, a rare instance where police personnel have faced administrative action over inaction in an anti-minority violence case in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, two separate cases have been filed in connection with the lynching incident. SI Abu Zobayer, who was the investigating officer in the case, was also relieved of investigation duties. Inspector (Investigation) Rafiqul Islam has been appointed as the new investigating officer for the case.
The tragedy unfolded when Pradip Das, Ruplal's nephew-in-law, was traveling by van from Mithapukur to finalize the marriage date. As he made his way, a group of villagers detained Pradip Das and Ruplal on suspicion of theft around 9pm in Bottola. The victims, Alamgir Hossain and Mehedi Hasan, were local residents who were later found to have been beaten to death by the mob.
Locals discovered four small plastic bottles from the van, one of which emitted a strong odor that caused two men, Alamgir Hossain and Mehedi Hasan, to feel unwell. Despite the presence of the police personnel, no action was taken to prevent the attack or to save the victims.
Several people have so far been arrested in relation to the lynching incident. The lynching victims were Ruplal Das, the father-in-law of Pradip Das, and Pradip Das himself, the son-in-law of Ruplal. Confused over the route in Taraganj, Pradip Das and Ruplal continued toward Ghanirampur village by rickshaw van.
The incident occurred around 9pm in Bottola, Taraganj-Kazirhat road in Rangpur district. The suspended police personnel were assigned to the mobile team in Taraganj at the time of the incident. The mob violence marked a tragic event in Rangpur district, with the focus now on bringing the perpetrators to justice and ensuring that such incidents do not occur in the future.
The suspensions of eight police personnel, including sub-inspectors Abu Zobayer and Shafiqul Islam, in Bangladesh's Rangpur district follow a rare instance of administrative action against police personnel for inaction in an anti-minority violence case. This inaction, as they were on duty during the lynching incident on the Taraganj-Kazirhat road in Bottola, directly contributed to the brutal deaths of two local residents, Alamgir Hossain and Mehedi Hasan. In this incident, politics, crime-and-justice, general-news, and war-and-conflicts intertwine, as the tragedy unfolded in a context of growing intolerance and mob violence in the region, and the focus now shifts towards ensuring justice for the victims and preventing such conflicts in the future.
