Investigative Report on Gazipur District, Bangladesh

Gruesome attacks on minorities at Gazipur

Note: Investigation conducted by Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities(HRCBM)- Dhaka, Bangladesh on 28th March,2003.

Report written by Advocate Rabindra Ghosh of HRCBM-Dhaka.

On 28th of March,2003 at about 10-30 a.m. I, Advocate Rabindra Ghosh and Prof. Ashoke Taru of HRCBM-Dhaka rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital to see Deepak Mallick, a wounded victim being treated after an outrageous attack by the terrorists on 24th March, 2003 at his village home "Degoliar Teck" on the basis of horrific news published in different dailies in Bangladesh. On reaching there, we came to know he was released the day before yesterday 27th March, 2003 and henceforth, we started for the place of occurrence at about 11.00 AM. We reached Gazipur at about 12.00 noon and met Md. Akhtaruzzaman, Officer-in-Charge, Joydebpur police station who to our utter surprise informed us that he knew nothing of the incident when we showed him the Paper cutting, he seemed to be thoughtful and finding no other means he made arrangements for our visiting the place of occurrence i.e. Degoliar Teck and Demar Para. At about 1 p.m. we reached Degaliar Teak with two Sub-Inspectors of Police namely Mr.Shaheed and Abu Mohammed Fazlul Karim.

Incident of Degoliar Teck, Nelerpara, Joydevpur

We entered the premises of the residence of Madhusudhan Mallick (70) who is dull of hearing could hardly take part in our conversation. We talked Surja Mohan son of late Mono Mohan Mallick and came to know that on 24 March, 03 at about 10.00 p.m. a group of terrorists armed with deadly weapons like dao, stick, taler daga (a sharp brash of palm tree used to strike the victim) and attacked them all on a sudden none could perceive what was going to happen. At first they hit Pranajit Kumar Mallick (15) a S.S.C.candidate and cut the thumb of his right hand. As a result he failed to appear at the examination starting from the next day. When he tried to shut the door, the terrorists plunged upon the old man, Madhusudhan Mallick. In response to his utter cry for help, his eldest son Deepak Mallick came forward. Once he came to rescue his father from the merciless beating of terrorists, the miscreants stabbed Deepak Mallick in the left side of his belly. At once Deepak fell down on the ground. He was then in a pool of blood. As there was a hue and cry, people from outside (neighboring areas) rushed to the spot and the terrorists dispersed. Pranajit and Deepak were injured so much that once taken to Gazipur Sadar Hospital, they were referred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. It is astonishing to note that in spite of such torture upon this family no Muslim neighbors came forward to their rescue or for any assistance.

Picture (courtesy HRCBM-Dhaka): Prof. Ashoke Taru of HRCBM-Dhaka is examining the wounds of Deepak Kumar Mallick at Deepak's residence in Joydevpur.	Picture (courtesy HRCBM-Dhaka): Victims are showing a blood stained lungie as evidence of the nightmare they went through to HRCBM-Dhaka representative.

People wounded due to attack :

1. Deepak Kumar Mallick(15) son of Madhusudhan Mallick
2. Eva Rani Mallick (35)
3. Sandhya Rani Mallick(45) wife of Amullah Chandra Mallick.
4. Roy Sundari (52)
5. Sanjoy Mallick (22) son of Madhusudhan Mallick, a student of Bhawal Badre Alam College of Gazipur.

Sushil Chandra Mallick, son of Surya Mallick took Deepak and Pranajit to the Hospital. We asked the following persons who admitted the fact and requested us to take drastic legal action against the culprits responsible for this type of heinous occurrence.

1    Ashish Modal son of Amullah Chandra Mondal, Teacher, Saraiya Govt. Primary  School.
2.  Tarani Roy son of Fatick Chandra Roy, a man from Lalmonirhat now working in the Neighboring areas.

We saw blood stained Loongie and shirt of the victims and requested the S.I.of Police to record those as evidence. The Police sub-Inspectors accordingly seized those alamats as testimony. Advocate Rabindra Ghosh of HRCBM requested the S.I.of Police to take written complaint from the victims and accordingly Madhusudhan Mallick son of Late Monamohan Mallick of Nilerpara lodged a written complain to O.C.Joydevpur (Case Number 61 dated 28.3.2003 was lodged under section 447/323/326 of Bangladesh Penal code against some unknown terrorists).
We requested the victims to tell the names of the terrorists, but it seems to us that the victims are not in a position to describe openly the names of the terrorists due to further repression. Primarily the police were reluctant to take any case from the victims, as there was no name of the terrorists in the First Information Report (FIR). Advocate Rabindra Ghosh told the police that if any cognizable offence takes places within the jurisdiction of their police station, they must take cognizance of any incident as per Code of Criminal procedure. Mentioning of specific name of the terrorists is not necessary. It is the duty of the Investigating police officers to ascertain the names of the criminals.   Suppression of facts will tantamount to injustice to the victims. ...... more......

Note: The wounded victim Subash Chandra Mallick gave us a written statement -affidavit that at the time of attacks the two terrorists remarked " You are Malaun (infidel). You are responsible for attack on Iraq by America, You are Hindu - Go back to any other places" .
The written document signed by Subash Chandra Mallick is scanned herewith for kind perusal....more...

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Note: This investigative report is prepared by HRCBM-Dhaka, Bangladesh.