Pintu murder case: PBI questions three prison officials, including then DIG Prisons, for five hours
Photo: Collected
Questioning went on from 9am to 2pm on Tuesday at the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) office in Rajshahi, where investigators questioned two accused and one witness in the case over the murder of BNP leader Nasir Uddin Ahmed Pintu. The investigation officer said their statements were recorded after the questioning.
The three prison officials questioned were Bazlur Rashid, then deputy inspector general (DIG Prisons) of Rajshahi Central Jail, Senior Jail Superintendent Shafiqul Islam, and Halima Khatun, senior jail superintendent of Kashimpur Central Jail. Bazlur Rashid and Shafiqul Islam are accused in the case, while Halima Khatun is a witness.
PBI Rajshahi Police Inspector Saikat Hasan is investigating the case. He said, ‘In GR cases we can arrest and question the accused, but in CR cases we cannot arrest them for questioning. This is a CR case. Two accused and one witness were summoned in the interest of the investigation, and their statements have been recorded.’
Nasir Uddin Ahmed Pintu, a former MP for the Dhaka-8 constituency, had been sentenced to life imprisonment in the BDR mutiny case. He died on 3 May 2015 while held in Rajshahi Central Jail. His family has claimed from the outset that his death was a political killing.
Pintu’s younger brother Nasim Uddin Rintu filed the murder case with the Rajshahi Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court on 5 February last year. The complaint case named 27 people as accused, including former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The court later handed the investigation to the PBI.
Investigation officer Saikat Hasan added that the deadline the court initially set for submitting the investigation report had already passed, after which he applied for more time. The investigation is now nearly complete, so the report will be submitted within the set time this time, he said. The court will issue its next order on the case after receiving the report.
Background
According to a report in The Daily Star on 3 May 2015, Nasir Uddin Ahmed Pintu was moved from Narayanganj jail to Rajshahi Central Jail on 20 April, before his death.
According to the same report, the head of the cardiology department at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital said Pintu had died of a heart attack before being brought to the hospital; the prison authorities denied allegations of negligence at the time.
Sources
Original report: Bangladesh Pratidin
Background sources: The Daily Star, 3 May 2015
