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🇧🇩 Bangladesh /Crime & Justice

Patuakhali fisherman spent days in jail after police arrested the wrong Jalil Hawlader

From Daily Star · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • Police in Bangladesh’s Patuakhali district arrested fisherman Md Jalil Hawlader in a fraud case after allegedly confusing him with another man with the same name and a similar father’s name.
  • Hawlader spent nearly two weeks in jail before the court granted him bail on September 1.
  • The police station chief said the mistake could have been avoided if the warrant had included the accused’s mother’s name and phone numbers.

A fisherman in Patuakhali spent days in jail after police allegedly mistook him for another man named Jalil Hawlader who is wanted in a fraud case.

Md Jalil Hawlader, 47, from the Bipinpur-Shibbaria area of Kalapara, was arrested on August 19 under a warrant issued by the Patuakhali Senior Judicial Magistrate’s Court. He was released on bail by the same court on September 1, after spending nearly two weeks in custody.

I have heard from Mahipur police that they had arrested another person and sent him to jail instead of my son.

· Abdul Malek HawladerThe father of the actual accused describes what police told him about the mistaken arrest.

His lawyer, Humayun Kabir, said Hawlader left jail at about 5:15 p.m. after the prison received the bail order. The court also ordered the officer-in-charge of Mahipur Police Station to appear at its next scheduled hearing in connection with the arrest.

Hawlader’s daughter, Jesmin Akter, said she went to the scene after learning of her father’s arrest and asked police to check the warrant and case details. She told officers that no case had been filed against him, but police allegedly took him to court despite her objections and those of local residents.

A local inquiry found that the actual accused is a 35-year-old man with the same name from the area. He has been living in Saudi Arabia since about 2023, according to his father, Abdul Malek Hawlader. “I have heard from Mahipur police that they had arrested another person and sent him to jail instead of my son,” he said.

The mistake could have been avoided if the accused’s mother’s name and the relevant persons’ mobile phone numbers had been mentioned in the arrest warrant.

· Shamim HowladerThe Mahipur police chief explains how the identification error might have been prevented.

Court documents show that businessman Md Alamgir Hossain filed a case in 2023 to recover Tk 273,513 from Jalil. A cheque issued to repay the money was dishonoured on March 27, 2023, because of insufficient funds. The arrest warrant that followed led Mahipur police to detain the fisherman.

Mahipur police chief Shamim Howlader said the error could have been avoided if the warrant had listed the accused’s mother’s name and the relevant phone numbers. He said police later helped arrange a lawyer and supported the fisherman’s bail. The case remains under scrutiny after the court ordered the police chief to appear.

However, after the wrong person was arrested, we provided overall assistance, including helping him arrange a lawyer, to secure his bail.

· Shamim HowladerThe police chief describes the assistance provided after the mistake was discovered.
About this summary

Originally published by Daily Star in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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