The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

A young boy accused of an extortion charge fell sick at the court premises and died in police custody at Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday.

Ratan Ahmed, arrested by RAB from Mirpur on Thursday in an extortion charge was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) from the court at about 11:00am where doctors on duty declared him dead.

Police said members of RAB-4 caught Ratan red-handed, while taking extortion money of Tk 10,000 from a businessman behind Sony Cinema Hall in Mirpur-2 Thursday night. Later, he was handed over to Mirpur police.

Mohiuddin Ahmed Officer in-Charge of Mirpur Police Station told the New Nation, "After filing a case against Ratan we sent him to the court yesterday morning where he fell sick and was immediately rushed to DMCH where doctors declared him dead."

But, the victim's family members alleged that Ratan became sick as the RAB men tortured him so severely that ultimately claimed his life.

Rejecting the allegation, a RAB official said Ratan has long been demanding Tk 5 lakh from Shahjahan Ali, a businessman of Shah Ali Market, over phone and making threats on his life.

"We caught Ratan at about 8:30pm and handed him over to police at 10:30pm. He was with us for two hours and during the time Ratan was completely fit," he said.