Barisal police official beaten to death at mental health hospital in Dhaka

A senior police official has been beaten to death allegedly by some staffers of a private mental health hospital in Dhaka after he went to take treatment there.

The incident took place at Mind Aid hospital in Adabar on Monday, reports Bangla Tribune.

The deceased, Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Anisul Karim was working at the traffic department of Barisal Metropolitan Police.

Police, meanwhile, detained six people including the managing director of the hospital.

They also seized the recordings of CCTV footage that showed the police official being assaulted by seven staffers inside a room of the hospital.

Police said the family of Anisul got him admitted to the hospital around 11:30am on Monday, and the authorities handed him over to the family again in an unconscious state after sometime.

Anisul was later taken to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and Hospital where he was declared dead by the on-duty physician.

A resident of Kapasia upazila in Gazipur, Anisul Karim was the father of one child.

The hospital CCTV footage showed the police official being dragged into a small room and pushed on the ground. 

It showed three employees climbing on his back, two others holding his legs and two more tying his hands. 

Anisul was assaulted and became unconscious. Water was splashed on his face but he did not move even then. 

Screenshot from CCTV video footage shows a group of Mind Aid Hospital staffers assaulting police official Anisul Karim in a room at the hospital on Monday, November 9, 2020

After sometime, two women wearing aprons entered the room and one was seen compressing his chest.

Meanwhile, ASP Anisul's father Faizuddin Ahmed started a case at Adabor police station against some unknown people in connection with the murder early Tuesday, reports UNB citing Inspector Faruk Molla.

Mohammad Rezaul Karim Sabuj, brother of the victim, said Anisul was posted at BMP as assistant commissioner (traffic). On Monday morning, he was brought to Dhaka National Institute of Mental Health and Hospital (NIMH) from Barishal around 6:30am as he has been suffering from mental illness. From there he was taken to Adabor's Mind Aid Hospital.

"My brother was killed by the staff of Mind Aid Hospital," Sabuj added.

Mrityunjay Dey, additional deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Tejgaon Division, said police have started to investigate the matter.

"We are interrogating six people including the managing director of the hospital." 

A police official said Anisul, an official of BCS 31st batch, was mentally disturbed as he did not get promotion to additional superintendent of police though many officers of his batch and even of the 33rd BCS batch got promoted.

Anisul was laid to rest at the central graveyard of Gazipur city after a namaz-e-janaza at Bhawal Rajbari field on Tuesday morning.