EX-DMP commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia sent to jail

A Dhaka court has sent former Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia to jail in a case filed over the custodial death of Nuruzzaman Jony, former general secretary of the Khilgaon Thana Chhatra Dal.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Arifur Rahman passed the order on Thursday.

Police produced Asaduzzaman Mia before the court after a seven-day remand. 

Later, Khilgaon police station Sub-Inspector Golap Mahmud appealed to the court to keep him in jail until the investigation of the case is completed. 

Besides, the investigation officer of another case Sajal Chandra Pal appealed to show him arrested in another murder case filed with Uttara East police station. 

The lawyers representing Asaduzzaman Mia argued for his bail. At that time, the prosecution opposed it. 

After hearing both sides, the court ordered him to be sent to jail by showing his arrest in the case filed at Uttara East police station.

The case dates back to January 20, 2015, when Jony was killed in a reported "gunfight" while in police custody in Khilgaon.

On September 2, 2024, nearly nine years after the incident, Jony's father, Yakub Ali, filed a case with Khilgaon Police Station.

The case names 13 police officers, former MP Saber Hossain Chowdhury, and 49 Awami League members as defendants.

According to the case file, Jony and his classmate Moin were detained on January 19, 2015, by officers posing as members of the Detective Branch (DB) after visiting Jony's younger brother at Dhaka Central Jail.

Jony's family searched for him at various police stations, but his whereabouts remained unknown for two days.

In the early hours of January 20, residents near Khilgaon's Jorapukur playground reported hearing cries of distress and gunshots.

Later that morning, police informed the residents that Jony had been killed in a gunfight with the police. His body was later found at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, bearing 16 gunshot wounds.

The case has sparked renewed public interest, as the court proceedings begin to unfold nearly a decade after the alleged incident.