The Superintendent of Feni police tried to pass off madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi’s murder as suicide in order to protect now withdrawn Shonagazi OC Moazzem Hossain. A police committee probe found both of them being negligent in their duty and recommended disciplinary action against them.
On Apr 6, the day Nusrat was set on fire SP SM Jahangir Alam backed up Moazzem Hossain said that the incident was suicide. He said the same in the written report.
A probe, however, revealed that Feni police had tried to divert the case in a different direction.
The inquiry revealed that he and Moazzem tried to make changes to the case including an attempt to remove now suspended madrasa principal Siraj-ud-Daula’s name.
The suspects that police arrested have already confessed that they carried out the arson attack on Nusrat at the Siraj’s behest as she has refused to withdraw a sexual assault against him.
Sources said that ASP Alam wrote to the police headquarters on Apr 11 saying that, she went to the madrasa to sit for her Alim exam the day she was set on fire.
He said that she went near the bathroom at roof of the cyclone shelter and after a few moments came back screaming with her entire body on fire.
In the letter he further said that after the fire was doused, the police repeatedly requested her family to file a case but they kept delaying it.
Nusrat’s brother who filed the case on Apr 8 said that the SP’s letter mentioned nothing about his sister being tied up and kerosene being poured on her and made it sound like she went to the roof of her own volition.
Mahmud Hasan told the probe committee that Moazzem Hossain had been writing off his sister’s claim of sexual harassment against Siraj as a conspiracy.
“Even a one and half hour before the murder attempt on my sister, English Department teacher Afsar Uddin pressured us to withdraw the sexual harassment case,” he said.
Mahmud added that even 30 hours after the attack the OC refused to take it as a murder case and tried to hide information.
The committee responsible for investigating those involved in the recommended strict action against four police officers and a district administration employee, including SP Alam and Moazzem Hossain in their probe report
The police committee chief, Deputy Inspector General of police headquarters SM Ruhul Amin submitted the report on Tuesday (Apr 30). The report found them negligent in their duties.
On Apr 12, a Human Rights Commission committee lodged a probe report holding the police and administration responsible for the murder.
It said that the arson attack on Nusrat could’ve been avoided if the madrasa committee and the local administration had taken her complaints of sexual harassment against former madrasa principal Siraj-ud-Daula seriously.
