The death of a 24-year-old law student while in the custody of Bangladesh’s Detective Branch (DB) police has raised fresh concerns over allegations of custodial abuse, with his family accusing officers of assault, fabricating a narcotics case, and demanding money in exchange for his release.
Ishtiaq Ahmed Pranto, a student at Faridpur Law College, was detained outside his home in Madhukhali, Faridpur, on the evening of 20 June. He died the following morning while in DB custody.
Police maintain that Pranto was arrested after officers recovered cannabis from his possession and insist he was treated “politely and courteously.” According to the DB, he fell ill shortly after dawn prayers while in custody and was taken first to Faridpur General Hospital and then to Faridpur Medical College Hospital, where he died at around 7:30 a.m. on 21 June.
However, interviews with Pranto’s family, relatives, eyewitnesses, and police officials reveal significant inconsistencies in the official account, raising questions about what happened between his arrest and his death.
The family also alleges that police demanded money in return for his release.
A Longstanding Human Rights Concern
Deaths in custody and allegations of torture remain a persistent human rights issue in Bangladesh.
According to data from Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), 11 people died in the custody of law enforcement agencies in 2025. Between January and June this year, four people died in police custody. The corresponding figures were 11 in 2024 and eight in 2023.
Family Says He Was Beaten During Arrest
Pranto lived near Madhukhali Bus Stand with his mother, Khadija Akter Nipa, and his 14-year-old younger brother.
After her husband’s death 14 years ago, Khadija raised both sons alone. Pranto worked at Faridpur Sugar Mill while also carrying out land surveying work. He had previously served as a leader of the now-banned Bangladesh Chhatra League’s Faridpur Ainuddin College unit.
On the afternoon of 20 June, he left home carrying a mobile phone and laptop while wearing a lungi and T-shirt.
His mother says she was at a nearby neighbour’s house when she learned he had been detained. Rushing to the scene, she says she found several DB officers beating her son.
“I saw them slapping him repeatedly on the head and ears. They kept saying, ‘This was found on you.’ Pranto kept insisting, ‘I didn’t have anything. I don’t know anything.’ But they continued beating him. Some even threatened to kill him,” she said.
She alleges that officers searched their home, found nothing, and resumed beating him after leaving the house.
As relatives and neighbours gathered, family members repeatedly pleaded for his release.
“I begged them to take me as well if they were taking my son. One officer replied that they would have to arrest me too,” Khadija said.
Two eyewitnesses gave similar accounts.
Police took Pranto away shortly after 6 p.m.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), detectives had received intelligence that drug traffickers had gathered in the area to sell cannabis and arrested Pranto during the operation.
Allegations of Bribery
Seeking his nephew’s release, Khadija contacted relative Sohel Munshi, a former student leader affiliated with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Sohel told The Daily Star that he contacted DB Sub-Inspector Ahaduzzaman at around 7:30 p.m. The officer reportedly told him that three packets of cannabis had been recovered from Pranto.
“I told him Pranto was my nephew and that he had no involvement in drug trafficking,” Sohel said.
When he asked whether Pranto could be released, the officer allegedly instructed him to wait at Kanaipur Bazaar, about 16 kilometres from Madhukhali.
Meanwhile, Sohel advised Khadija to arrange money. According to him, she deposited Tk 40,000 with a local mobile banking agent.
Around 1:30 a.m., the DB team arrived in Kanaipur with Pranto.
Sohel says Pranto repeatedly held his head and complained of severe pain, telling him that DB officers had beaten him.
He said he urged officers not to assault him further.
The officers then stopped for dinner at a roadside restaurant. Sohel says he paid for their meal and also bought food and water for Pranto and two other detainees.
When he again asked for Pranto’s release, the officer reportedly consulted a senior official before saying it was no longer possible because Awami League supporters had already posted about the arrest on social media.
According to Sohel, the conversation then shifted to money.
He alleges officers initially hinted at a substantial payment. When he offered Tk 50,000, they rejected it and demanded Tk 65,000 before eventually increasing the amount to Tk 100,000.
Sohel says he proposed paying part immediately and the remainder the next morning. According to him, officers replied that if he brought the full amount the following morning, they would “manage the matter.”
He then returned home.
Final Hours
According to both police and family accounts, the DB team spent several hours moving Pranto between different locations before taking him to their office.
At around 6:30 a.m. on 21 June, SI Ahaduzzaman called Sohel, informing him that Pranto was experiencing breathing difficulties and was being taken to hospital.
When Sohel arrived at Faridpur Medical College Hospital, police told him that after dawn prayers Pranto had complained of dizziness and asked officers to hold him before his condition deteriorated.
“The police showed me a room. When I went inside, Pranto was lying there with his face covered. He was already dead,” Sohel said.
Soon afterwards, Khadija and Pranto’s maternal uncle, Mintu Molla, reached the hospital.
Mintu says doctors initially wanted the body buried within an hour but agreed to conduct a post-mortem after he insisted.
He says he noticed blood around Pranto’s nose, mouth and ears.
Another relative, cousin Mirza Joy, says injuries were also visible on the soles of Pranto’s feet while the body was being washed before burial.
Questions Over Drug Case
On the day of Pranto’s funeral, SI Ahaduzzaman filed a narcotics case against him.
The FIR states that officers recovered 100 grams of cannabis from the right pocket of his trousers.
However, Khadija disputes that account, saying her son was wearing only a lungi when he was detained.
A video recorded shortly before the arrest, which later circulated on social media, appears to show Pranto wearing a lungi and T-shirt with a bag over his shoulder. No trousers are visible, although The Daily Star said it could not independently verify the footage.
The FIR lists two witnesses.
One of them, Binoy Kumar Saha, told The Daily Star he was not present during the operation and did not witness any drugs being recovered.
“They asked me to sign. At first I refused. Later, I agreed because I was afraid,” he said.
The second witness, Md Alamgir Hossain, could not be reached.
Responding to questions, SI Ahaduzzaman claimed Pranto had been wearing trousers underneath the lungi and that the cannabis was recovered from those trousers.
He did not explain why Pranto was not wearing trousers in videos recorded at the hospital, footage that also could not be independently verified.
When asked about these inconsistencies, the officer said witnesses could now deny seeing the drugs because Pranto had died.
Asked about his alleged meeting with Sohel and the accusations of demanding a bribe, he ended the phone call.
He later sent social media posts via WhatsApp claiming Pranto had died from illness but did not respond to further calls or messages.
Assistant Sub-Inspector Hajikul Islam, who was reportedly present during the arrest, did not respond to repeated calls or text messages.
Madhukhali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Sukdeb Roy said the narcotics case had been filed by a DB officer and that local police do not review complaints submitted by the Detective Branch. He added that the seized evidence remains in DB custody.
The then acting head of Faridpur DB, Sayed Mohammad Alamgir Hossain, was later withdrawn from his post following Pranto’s death. After identifying the caller as a Daily Star reporter, he disconnected calls from three separate phone numbers and did not respond further.
Family Seeks Justice
Police have registered an unnatural death case over Pranto’s death.
After his body was returned home, local residents blocked roads in protest before ending the demonstration at the family’s request. Relatives allege the family was pressured by police to call off the protest.
They are now preparing to file a case in court.
Khadija said her son had recently begun renovating their home and the family had started looking for a bride for him.
“Everything is over now,” she said through tears.
She says the family has lived in fear since his death.
“I want justice, but I am afraid. I have another son. I have to think about him too.”
Pranto’s cousin, Mirza Joy, said the family has long been associated with the Awami League. One cousin is currently in prison in what the family describes as a politically motivated case, while an uncle previously served as president of the local Awami League unit.
Pranto’s uncle, Mintu Molla, also alleges that the family has faced pressure from officials following the death.
On 21 June, the government formed a three-member committee, led by Faridpur Additional Superintendent of Police (Administration and Finance) Fatema Islam, to investigate the incident.
The committee was initially given seven working days to complete its inquiry but later sought an additional seven days.
Asked about the investigation, Fatema Islam said only: “We are still investigating the matter,” declining to comment further.
The allegations made by Pranto’s family have not been independently verified. The police investigation and the government-appointed inquiry remain ongoing.