HC orders to remove 3 hospitalised Santals' handcuff

14 November 2016, 06:57 AM

UPDATED 14 November 2016, 14:26 PM

Star Online Report

Bullet-hit Choron Soren with one of his hands cuffed to his bed at Rangpur Medical College Hospital on Saturday, November 12, 2016. The Santal man, who was shot in the leg during the November 6 attack on his community in Gaibandha, was undergoing treatment under police custody. Photo: Star

The High Court today directed police to remove handcuffs of three Santals of Gaibandha who were injured and arrested in a case filed for attacking police with arrows during a clash on November 6.

The court asked the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner, deputy inspector general of Rangpur range and superintendent of police in Gaibandha to submit a report before it by November 16 after complying with the order.

It also issued a rule asking them to explain in two weeks as to why handcuffing Choron Soren, Bimal Kisku and Dijen Tudu should not be declared illegal. Two of the Santals are now receiving treatment at Rangpur Medical College Hospital while another at National Institute of Ophthalmology (NIO) in Dhaka.

The HC bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice Krishna Debnath came up with the order and rule after a writ petition was filed with the High Court seeking its order upon the government to open the handcuff from the three Santals.

A Supreme Court lawyer, Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua submitted the petition following a report published on The Daily Star on November 13 under the headline 'Santal man being treated with hand cuffed, tied'.

Also Read: Santals in Gaibandha: Worried about the missing

The three were arrested on November 7 after Gobindaganj police filed the case against 34 named and 300 unnamed people for allegedly attacking the law enforcers. They were being treated at different hospitals with their hands cuffed and tied.

The clash on November 6 ensued at Shahebganj cane farm of Rangpur Sugar Mills located in Gobindaganj upazila of Gaibandha over harvesting sugarcane. The clash left two Santals dead and 25 people, including nine cops, injured.

Asked why cops opened fire on the Santals, Superintendent of Police Ashraful Alam later said police were forced to fire shots in presence of a magistrate as they came under an arrow attack.

During the Pakistan regime in 1952, the government had acquired 1,840 acres of land at Shahebganj to set up a sugarcane farm.