ET Report
Police filed a case against Awami League legislator Ilias Uddin Mollah of Dhaka-15 constituency in connection with assaulting a policeman on June 30.
This unprecedented incident of police filing a case against a ruling party lawmaker happened on Thursday night.
Savar Police Outpost Traffic Sergeant Shariful Islam filed the case with Ashulia Police Station accusing Ilias of beating him up severely while he was on duty at Ashulia on June 30 afternoon.
Sources said after a preliminary enquiry conducted by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP-headquarters) Abdus Salam, the inspector general of police (IGP) called the sergeant to his office Thursday and asked him to file the case.
Sergeant Shariful Islam told The Daily Star, "I have filed the case with the approval of IGP Nur Mohammad."
In the case statement, Shariful said the lawmaker swooped on him as he failed to provide Ilias a satisfactory answer when he asked why his vehicle was stuck in a traffic jam on June 30.
The angry MP hurled abusive words at him, slapped and beat him up so severely with a stick that it knocked him out, the case statement said.
ASP Abdus Salam told The Daily Star, "During the enquiry, the lawmaker admitted that he slapped the traffic sergeant as he did not show proper respect. Besides, the MP got angry as he was suffering due to the traffic jam."
Dhaka Superintendent of Police Iqbal Bahar said attack on a policeman on duty is unacceptable.
"If there was any reluctance on that sergeant's part or it was his fault, the lawmaker could have complained to his high-ups against the policeman," the SP said.
A top-ranking police official said it is an unprecedented incident of filing a case by law-enforcers against any ruling party lawmaker.
"The case has been filed at the decision of the Police headquarters as the attack on an on-duty policeman was an attempt of tarnishing the police image," he said.
Meanwhile, despite repeated attempts, lawmaker Ilias Mollah could not be reached. Sources said the MP is now abroad on a government tour.