A man who was mistakenly arrested by Jashore police in a murder case has been released.
His lawyer Mustafa Humayun Kabir confirmed that Sobuj Biswas, 24, had been released on Wednesday (May 22) after three months in prison.
Also known as Johnny, Sobuj was arrested on Feb 17.
Another Johnny was suspected of murdering Mithu Sheikh but Sobuj was sent to jail as the police mistook him as the murder suspect.
Jashore Kotwali police OC Apurba Hasan on May 22 admitted the mistake and issued a statement when they claimed to have arrested the actual suspect, Johnny.
The OC explained to Bangla Tribune about the mistake. “Both Johnny and Sobuj’s fathers have the same names. They are both from the same area of the same district. That led to the mistaken identity.”
He said, “We arrested the suspect Johnny on May 19.”
On Sept 25, 2009, Mithu Sheikh was abducted from Poolerhat Bazar in Jashore sadar upazila. His body was found the next day in the Arichpur beel.
Mithu’s brother Ismail Shiekh filed a case naming nine people. The charge-sheet accused eight including Johnny, 26.
Kotwali Sub-Inspector Sohel Rana mistakenly arrested Sobuj, who was subsequently sent to jail.
Sobuj’s father Khairul Biswas had strongly protested the mistake. The matter eventually went to court where the investigation officer and warrant officer were told to probe the matter further and submit a report. This led the police to discover their mistake.