Sultana’s death: Let a case be filed for the sake of justice

No case has been filed yet for the death of Sultana Jasmine, which may delay justice for the victim's family, said a group of eminent citizens in Rajshahi yesterday.

Sultana Jasmine was detained in a case filed under the Digital Security Act and had been in Rab custody until her death on March 27.

At a press conference in the office of Rajshahi Union of Journalists around noon, the three-member group demanded legal action against the plaintiff of the DSA case filed against Sultana and the quick filing of a case over her death.

"If no case is filed for her death, justice will remain elusive for her family."

Led by prominent writer Mahbub Siddiki, also president of Heritage Rajshahi, a history-based research organisation, a three-member group of citizens visited Naogaon, where Sultana was from, on Friday.

Other members were Prof Iftikharul Alam Mas-ud, a teacher of the Arabic language department in Rajshahi University, and Hasnat Beg, a lawyer and convenor of Rastra Sangskar Andolon.

Sultana's family told the group about its fear of filing a case.

"It appeared to us that Sultana's family has been living in fear of harassment," Siddiki said, adding, "If not the family, the police could have recorded a case, but nothing was done."

Prof Mas-ud said they talked to two eyewitnesses of Sultana's detention, who informed them that no female Rab member was present while she was being detained.

The group did not mention the names of the witnesses but did say that one of the witnesses was a lawyer and the other a journalist.

The witnesses further said that on March 22, the day she was detained, some plain-clothes law enforcers, all of whom were men, dragged Sultana into a microbus against her will.

Hasnat Beg demanded legal action against Enamul Haque, director of local government at the Rajshahi divisional commissioner's office, who filed the case against Sultana.

"Despite being a high official, Enamul Haque illegally used Rab to detain an employee under his jurisdiction and [made them] interrogate her in a manner that led to her death."