A man in Gazipur was wrongfully arrested on Friday in a case of mistaken identity and has been in jail since then.
The arrested, Rafikul Islam, 42, has the same name as the person against whom a warrant was issued by the Forest Court.
The wrongfully arrested Rafikul, a tea seller, is from Kewa Poschim Khando's Dargarchala in Gazipur's Sreepur municipality, whereas the real accused, Rafikul Islam, 39, is from Kewa Poschim Khando's Begun Bari and is a sawmill owner.
Coincidentally, both the Rafikuls' fathers also share the same name, Nur Mohammad.
Arrested Rafikul's father Nur said Sreepur police station Assistant Sub-inspector (ASI) Kofil Uddin arrested his son Rafikul last Friday afternoon only after learning their names, without verifying any other details.
According to the Sreepur Forest Department, Sreepur Sadar Forest Beat Officer Sahidur Rahman filed a case against sawmill owner Rafikul with a Senior Judicial Magistrate Court (Forest) for operating his sawmill without a license. Sreepur police station was ordered to arrest Rafikul after a warrant was issued against him.
Rafikul, the real accused in the case, said the case was filed against him. However, he is out on bail secured from the High Court.
Sreepur municipality Mayor Anisur Rahman said: "An innocent person is in jail due to a mistake made by the police. Who will take responsibility for this?"
However, ASI Kofil of Sreepur police station said tea seller Rafikul was in the police station for a long time but no one mentioned anything about the mistaken identity then.
Sreepur police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Liakot Ali said: "We could do something if the case was filed with the police station. However, the case was filed with the court, and the court will decide if he is the real accused or not. But as far as I know, the arrested Rafikul is the tea seller, while the other one is the sawmill owner."
In another case of mistaken identity, jute mill worker Jahalam was sued in 33 cases for loan fraud and embezzlement of Tk18.5 crore from Sonali Bank Limited, leading to his imprisonment for three years. He was in jail since February 2016, while the real accused, Abu Salek, is still absconding.
He was freed from jail on February 4, 2019, after the High Court acquitted him in 26 cases in which charges were pressed.
