Shawdesh desk:

The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) did not find any evidence of torture on cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore.

Additional Public Prosecutor Taposh Kumar Pal of Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court said Investigating Officer of the case and superintendent of police of  PBI Mohammad Mizanur Rahman submitted a report in this regard on October 17.

The court fixed November 24 for hearing on the probe report on Wednesday.

According to the PIB report, Kishore’s allegations of torture against 16-17 unnamed people were not primarily proved.

On March 20, a three-member medical board of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) submitted a report to the court saying that they did not find any sign of torture on Kishore’s body.

The members of the medical board were Prof Sheikh Nurul Fattah Rumi of ENT, Prof Fakhrul Amin Khan of the orthopedic and Prof Mohammad Hafiz Sardar of medicine departments.

On March 10, Kishore filed a complaint in the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court against unnamed members of law enforcement agencies, alleging torture after being arrested in a case under the Digital Security Act.

Later on March 14, Judge KM Emrul Kayesh directed the director of Dhaka Medical College Hospital to form a three-member committee. He also directed the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to investigate the case.

In his complaint Kishore said, he was picked up on May 2 last year by some 16-17 unidentified men.

They searched his room without showing any arrest warrant and illegally took all hisdigital devices, including  a mobile phone set, computer CPU and portable hard disc drive, he alleged.

He also said that he was tortured physically and mentally at an unknown place between May 2 and 4 last year.

At one stage of the interrogation, one of the men slapped Kishore, leaving him unconscious for a while.

Earlier on Sept 12, Dhaka Cyber Tribunal accepted the charges against seven people, including cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore in a case filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA) Act on charges of spreading rumours and carrying out anti-government activities.

Writer Mushtaq Ahmed’s name was dropped from the charge sheet as he died on February 25.

The three others accused who were exonerated from the charges are– US-based journalist Shahed Alam, Germany-based blogger Asif Mohiuddin, and Philip Schuhmacher.

On June 13, police submitted a supplementary charge sheet against seven people, including cartoonist Kishore.

Afsar Ahmed, Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit (CTTC) sub-inspector and also the investigative officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet to the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s court.

In February, police submitted a charge sheet against three of the accused, dropping the names of eight others.

Later, a Dhaka court ordered the DMP CTTC unit to further investigate all the 11 accused in the case.

Rab personnel arrested writer Mushtaq Ahmed, also a businessman, and cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore from their respective homes in Kakrail and Lalmatia areas on May 5, 2020 on charges of spreading disinformation against the government on social media.

On May 6 last year, RAB filed the case against the 11 people with Ramna police station on charges of spreading rumours and carrying out anti-government activities, under the DSA.