‘Forced Marriage, Torture on Woman': DIG Mizan withdrawn

DMP Additional Commissioner Mizanur Rahman, who allegedly married a woman forcibly and tortured her, has been withdrawn from Dhaka Metropolitan Police yesterday.

Mizan, who holds the rank of deputy inspector general, was attached to the police headquarters yesterday, Assistant Inspector General Saheli Ferdous told The Daily Star.

Earlier talking to the media, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said an enquiry has been launched into the allegations against Mizan.

“He [Mizan] has been withdrawn from the DMP and attached to the headquarters for the sake of a proper investigation,” he said.

Mizan allegedly picked up 25-year-old Moriam Akter Eko from in front of her Panthapath house on July 15 last year and then forcibly married her, according to a statement of Moriam's mother Queen Talukdar.

In the statement sent to different media outlets, Queen Talukdar also alleged that her daughter was implicated in a false case and was jailed for three weeks. She got out of prison on bail a week ago.

Only a couple of days back, the same police official's name surfaced in the media for allegedly picking up a female news presenter of a private television channel at gunpoint last month.

Last night, private TV channel Jamuna Television aired an audio record of a phone conversation reportedly between Mizan and the female news presenter.

In the audio record, the DIG threatened to kill the news presenter and a journalist who had “reported against him”. He said he would not spare those who were behind his downfall, and that he would take his own life after killing them.

Jamuna Television report mentioned that the phone conversation was recorded by detectives.

The Daily Star could not independently verify the voices in the audio record.

This correspondent tried to reach Mizan several times on his mobile phone yesterday afternoon, but it was found switched off.

However, talking to the media a couple of days ago, he refuted the allegations of marrying Moriam forcibly and torturing her.

MORIAM'S ALLEGATIONS

In a video clip available on the social media, Moriam said she got acquainted with the police official through one of her friends, and gradually developed a good relationship with him.

At one stage, he started making “indecent proposals” to her.

On July 15 last year, Mizan told her that he wanted to apologise for his “misdeeds”. On that day, under the pretext of having a conversation, Mizan took her to the 300 Feet Road in the capital where he tortured her, Moriam alleged in the footage.

She was later taken to Mizan's Bailey Road house where a doctor, in the name of treatment, injected her with a substance that made her unconscious. Mizan then tortured her, reads her mother's statement.

When Moriam tried to commit suicide the following day, Mizan called her mother and asked her to come to the capital from Bogra, it said.

In the video footage, Moriam said that when her mother arrived in Mizan's Bailey Road house a day later, Mizan apologised for his misdeeds and proposed to marry her. As she rejected the proposal, Mizan threatened to kill her and her mother, brandishing his firearm.

Moriam alleged that Mizan later forcibly married her with a dower of Tk 50 lakh.

Moriam's mother has also lodged complaints with the Prime Minister's Office, the home ministry and the police headquarters.

In her written complaint, Queen Talukdar mentioned that Mizan started living with Moriam at his Bailey Road house after the “forced marriage”.

Several days later, he rented a separate house in Lalmatia for Moriam, saying that his first wife would return home from Canada, she said.

Queen Talukdar alleged that Mizan later started torturing her daughter and put pressure on her for divorce. As Moriam tried to collect a copy of the marriage certificate, “a false case” was filed with Ramna Police Station, accusing her of ransacking his house. Police arrested Moriam on December 12.

Neither Moriam nor her mother could be reached yesterday for comments.

Talking to this correspondent yesterday, Moriam's driver Hafizur Rahman Taz claimed Mizan used to frequent the Lalmatia house after it was rented in September last year. But later he visited it once a week.

“Moriam and Mizan used to quarrel often and things gradually got worse,” he said.

Moriam's younger brother also lived at the house and their mother used to visit it at times, he said.

Hafizur said he quit the job on December 31 after Moriam landed in jail early that month.

ALLEGATIONS BY TV PRESENTER

Jamuna Television on Monday broadcast a news report in which the female news presenter of another private TV channel alleged that Mizan had forced her into a car at gunpoint on December 12.

When the car slowed down due to heavy traffic on the Kuril Road, locals came to her rescue hearing her scream from the vehicle. Locals then stopped the car and held Mizan, she said.

But later police arrived at the scene and helped him escape, she alleged.

“He [Mizan] held me hostage at gunpoint, beat me and took away my bag and belongings. See, there are still marks here [on her hand],” she claimed in the TV report.

Contacted, Shahidul Islam, officer-in-charge of Khilkhet Police Station, said he was not aware of any such incident.