Name confusion? Satkhira woman spends 4 days in jail in place of accused

The family of a woman in Satkhira has alleged that she was wrongly detained by police for four days instead of the suspect named in an arrest warrant.

The actual accused mentioned in the warrant, Sumi Akhter, is married to Ariful Islam Biswas, and her mother's name is Salma Begum, residing in the Baruiati village, according to the case documents.

On the other hand, the arrested Ruhi Akhter is married to one Ariful Islam Mali and her mother's name is Halima Begum.

So, Ruhi's last name matches Sumi's, and the names of their husbands also share similarities.

Ruhi's family has accused Tala Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI) Mamun of negligence in duty.

No one from their family informed me that Ruhi Akhter was not the accused at the time of her arrest or when they visited the police station.

Tala police station sub-inspector

As per the allegations, Ruhi Akhtar, daughter of Shahar Ali from Baruiati village in Tala upazila, was apprehended by SI Mamun with the help of an informer on 23 December in connection with a cheque fraud case filed by an NGO.

Following the arrest, Ruhi Akhter was sent to jail based on a court order and she later secured bail from Satkhira court on 26 December.

Ruhi's family said that the informer did this intentionally, an allegation which could not be verified independently.

In response to the allegations, SI Mamun of Tala Police Station said, "No one from their family informed me that Ruhi Akhter was not the accused at the time of her arrest or when they visited the police station.

"Even the chairman of Tala union did not say anything about it. It is only now, through you [journalists], that I am hearing that the arrested individual is not the actual accused." 

Abdul Quader Mali, father-in-law of the detained woman, said, "We repeatedly informed the police that we have not borrowed money from any NGO. My son's wife is not the actual accused."

Syed Imran Ali, manager of the NGO Jagorani Chakra Foundation's Tala branch, said, "I recently took charge of this branch, and I cannot provide details without reviewing the documents."

Regarding the incident, Tala Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mominul Islam said that the woman was arrested in connection with two check fraud cases. 

Tala Union Chairman Zakir also visited the police station, and at that time, he did not say that the wrong person had been arrested.

"Additionally, no one from their family conveyed this information. Upon learning of the incident, the police are currently investigating to gather more information," the OC added.