Firearms recovery drive: Two die in custody

Two men died in police custody after they were arrested during a jointraid conducted to recover stolen firearms in Saghata upazila of Gaibandha yesterday.
The deceased are Sohrab Hossain, 35, and Shafiqul Islam, 45, of Gobindi village in the upazila’s Saghata Union Parishad.
Sohrab’s widow said he was tortured to death.
Sohrab died at Gaibandha General Hospital, while Shafiqul died at Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital in Bogura.
Three other arrestees were admitted to the medical college hospital.
Gaibandha Superintendent of Police Md Mosharraf Hossain said five people were arrested during a raid conducted to recover firearms looted from police stations. “Soon after their arrest, they fell ill and were subsequently taken to hospitals.”
Two of them died while undergoing treatment, he added.
When asked about allegations of torture, the official said doctors involved in treating them and carrying out the autopsies would be able to confirm whether they were tortured. 
Contacted, Gaibandha General Hospital Superintendent Mahbub Hossain said he would need to see the autopsy report to confirm the cause of death and if they were tortured.
The three injured undergoing treatment under police custody at the Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital are Saghata union Awami League president and union parishad chairman Mosharraf Hossain, 55, Shahadat Hossain, 28, of Banshhata village and Reazul Islam, 28 of Satalia village.
Speaking to journalists, wife of deceased Sohrab, said in the wee hours of yesterday, law enforcers raided their village and arrested five people, including her husband, and started beating them up with sticks.
“They alleged that my husband had weapons. But I told them he did not have any. They stayed in our village till 7:00am. I was not allowed to go near my husband. My husband died due to their torture. I want justice.”
Chairman Mosharraf Hossain, who is undergoing treatment at the hospital, told local reporters, “Someone gave false information that we had the firearms looted from police stations. Based on that information, they arrested me and beat me and my nephew for hours. They did not find any weapons during the raid.”
Since September 4, members of the armed forces, Border Guard Bangladesh, Coast Guard, police, Rab, and Ansar have been conducting joint drives to recover firearms and bullets looted by mobs from different police stations and establishments across the country during the mass uprising.
So far a total of 111 firearms, including 30 pistols and an AK-47, have been recovered. As many as 51 suspects were also arrested during the drives, the Police Headquarters (PHQ) said in a statement yesterday.