Two custodial deaths in a single day!

It is deeply disturbing that two men died in the custody of the Detective Branch (DB) of police on Friday in two separate incidents. In both cases, the families of the deceased have alleged that they were tortured to death. It is quite telling that what was quite common during the tenure of an authoritarian regime is still occurring, suggesting that the old, repressive practices of custodial torture have very much remained in place. Just imagine, there have been 45 custodial deaths in the country between August 2024 and October 2025, as per data from Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK).

In one of the cases cited above, 40-year-old Moktar Hossain was arrested in connection with the killing of a Jubo Dal leader in Pallabi, Dhaka. A report by this daily says that DB officers raided a location to arrest him on Thursday. Police claimed that Moktar tried to flee and was caught and beaten by local residents. They further claimed Moktar fell ill at around 1:30am on Friday and was then taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) for treatment before being discharged and returned to custody. At around 10am, officers said they found him unresponsive when they called him to eat and took him back to DMCH, where he was declared dead. Was he really well enough after treatment to be taken back to the DB office? What happened between the time he was returned to custody and the time he was found unresponsive?

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Why is custodial death continuing?

The same day, another suspect in a murder case, Md Shahadat Hossain—an auto-rickshaw driver who was arrested the day before—"fell ill" and died at the Sirajganj General Hospital. Shahadat's brother has alleged he was beaten to death while in custody, and that the police had demanded Tk 5 lakh for his release.

We may recall that in late January this year, the chief adviser strongly condemned any form of custodial torture and extrajudicial killing, ordering an urgent investigation into the death of Jubo Dal leader Tohidul Islam who died after being arrested by the joint forces. Yet despite the chief adviser's condemnation, custodial torture and deaths have continued. The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act, 2013 remains a law on paper only. So far, perpetrators have been punished in only one case of custodial death, that too back in 2020.

Reportedly, the government has finalised a draft ordinance to form an independent police commission. This aims to ensure accountability within the force and to make it fair, transparent, and free from politicisation. The commission would investigate citizens' complaints against police members and take necessary action. But will it also monitor police actions when a suspect is detained or interrogated? This must be part of any meaningful police reform. Until the commission is formed, it remains the responsibility of those in charge to ensure the safety of anyone held in custody, regardless of what crime they are accused of. We expect fair probes into these deaths, with the responsible officers brought to book.