The High Court has pulled up the government over one Md Arman, who has been allegedly languishing in jail for over three years on narcotics charges due to a case of mistaken identity.
On Tuesday (Apr 23), the court issued a rule asking the government why it should not be ordered to release Arman.
It also ordered the Dhaka metropolitan sessions judge to produce the documents of the case in which Arman was arrested before the court by seven days.
The bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Md Khairul Alam came up with the rule and order after hearing a petition filed by rights body Law and Life Foundation seeking necessary order.
Authorities concerned of the government, including home secretary, inspector general of police, superintendent of Dhaka police, have been ordered to respond within 10 days.
Arman, an artisan at Benaroshi Palli in Dhaka’s Pallabi, was arrested by the police, who confused him with local drug dealer Shahabuddin Bihari as their fathers have the same name, according to the petition.
Shahabuddin was accused in a drug-smuggling case filed at Pallabi police station in Dhaka.
Because of this mix-up, the real accused, Sahabuddin Bihari, was not caught and is still running his illegal drug dealing business while Md Arman is in jail, claims the writ.
The writ was filed attaching a report, ran by Bangla national on Apr 18 over Arman's case.
According to the media report, police, in an anti-narcotics drive, detained drug-dealer Sahabuddin Bihari, along with his two aides—Sohel Mollah and Mamun alice Sagor—with 40 yaba pills at a house in Pallabi in August 2005.
Later a case was filed and the charge sheet against the three was filed with court in September the same year.
While the case was at trial, Sahabuddin secured bail after two years of imprisonment on Mar 5, 2007. He surrendered to the court on Jan 17, 2011 and again got bail. However, he has been on the run since then.
On October 1, 2012, court sentenced Sahabuddin and his two accomplices to 10 years in jail as well as issued a warrant for him.
Following the arrest warrant, on Jan 27, 2016, police arrested Arman and produced him before a day later, when he was sent to the Kasimpur jail to serve the term.
Previously, on Feb 4, Jute mill worker Jahalam—who spent the last three years behind bars after being wrongfully accused in 33 corruption cases—was released from jail following a High Court order.
Jahalam was arrested on Feb 6, 2016 after being mistaken for Abu Salek, the original accused in 33 cases that ACC had filed in 2014, over loan fraud and embezzlement of Tk 185 million from state-owned Sonali Bank.