Kamal lying at Jessore Medical College Hospital, where he was taken from Dhaka's National Institute of Chest Diseases & Hospital, with his hand cuffed to the cot. PHOTO: Courtesy The ordeals of the man who survived a point-blank shot by police in Jessore last month are far from over. For over a month, Aminul Islam Kamal fought for life with one of his lungs damaged by shotgun pellets, and all this
time police kept him handcuffed to the hospital bed. As if these were not enough, the 45-year-old shopkeeper was thrown into jail immediately after his release from hospital on Sunday. He now faces two cases for “assaulting police and spreading terror”. Rights activists described the filing of the cases against Kamal, son of a freedom fighter with no political links, as a possible police plot to prove him to be a culprit and thereby justify their "brutal mistake". Yesterday afternoon, he was granted bail by a Jessore court but was not released due to incomplete paperwork, said Kamal's brother Jamal. THE SHOOTING It all started on October 1 when the BNP-led 20-party alliance formed a human chain in front of Jessore Press Club to protest the then posts and telecommunications minister Latif Siddique's derogatory comments on Hajj. Advertisement A clash broke out between the demonstrators and police who at one stage started firing from shotguns indiscriminately. Kamal, who worked at a readymade garment shop near the venue, got panicked and started closing the shutters. Before he could realise anything, cops pounced on him, kicked him to the ground and one of them held the muzzle of his gun on Kamal's chest and pulled the trigger. Critically wounded, Kamal was first taken to Jessore Medical College Hospital and then to the National Institute of Chest Diseases and Hospital (NICDH) in Dhaka. CUFFED IN HOSPITAL At the NICDH, part of his lung had to be cut off and the doctors were not sure if he would survive. Police, however, took no chance. "They cuffed him to the bed. As if a dying man would run away! And he was kept like that throughout his treatment period," said a relative of Kamal. He requested anonymity, saying the cops were pressing them not to talk to the media. In fact, none of Kamal's family members wanted to talk to this correspondent believably for the same reason. HOLLOW PROMISES As the shooting incident made headlines in the media, police assured Kamal's family of a fair probe into the matter. They also promised to bear the expenses for Kamal's treatment and even to get him a better job. But mere words were those. “The family had to pay Tk 4,000 to cover expenses of four policemen who travelled to Dhaka and returned to Jessore with Kamal following his release from the hospital in Dhaka,” said one of Kamal's relatives. Earlier, they paid Tk 2,000 as travel expenses for another four-member police team that had come to Dhaka when Kamal was taken to the NICDH, he said. A day after the shooting, Superintendent of Jessore Police Anisur Rahman had told this newspaper that police in primary probe found Kamal to be a BNP activist. But if Kamal was found innocent in the detailed investigation, charges against him would be dropped. Interestingly, the local BNP held a press conference that very day and said Kamal was not involved with their party. More than a month has gone by since the district police chief gave the assurance, but things became only bleaker for the victim. Even now, police haven't run out of excuses. "We got 60 days since the incident for the investigation. So we have more time before we finally say whether he is innocent," said Enamul Haque, officer-in-charge of Jessore Kotwali Police Station. The Jessore SP could not be reached on his phone despite several attempts by this correspondent. BAIL AT LAST BUT... After an agonising wait for over a month, Kamal finally got bail in the cases yesterday. However, he was not released yet as the police had made a mistake in writing the name of Kamal's father. "Instead of Rezaul Haque Sardar, the police had written Rabiul Islam," said Kamal's brother, adding that he might be able to walk out of jail on Sunday. Ironically, those who hold important positions in the local BNP units were released on bail within a few days of the violence. But Kamal, who used to work for an NGO before he started working at the garment shop and never had any political adherence, had to suffer the worst, said a friend of Kamal. He too wished not to be named. POLICE INTENTION QUESTIONED Rights activists described the police brutality and subsequent harassment of Kamal as ominous for the overall human rights situation in the country. Nur Khan, who heads the probe wing of rights body Ain o Salish Kendra, believes if police wanted, Kamal would be off the hook by now. “The police are just being stubborn not to acknowledge the mistake they have made,” said Nur. “Police may even forge documents to prove that Kamal has always been a BNP activist, and even been involved in violent political programmes,” he suspected.
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