The death of Mohammed Quayyum Khan, BNP leader and DCC Ward Commissioner once again raises questions regarding this military-controlled interim government s handling and treatment of those taken into custody during its tenure. Only 45 years of age at the time of his death, Quayyum fainted in a toilet at the Dhaka Central Jail on Friday morning, was rushed to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and declared dead by the doctors soon after his admission.

Family members of the deceased ward commissioner as well as senior members of the BNP have reportedly claimed that Quayyum had been suffering from heart diseases and that his death resulted from a lack of treatment in jail. Although the jail authorities have denied the allegations made by Quayyum s family and colleagues and have claimed that he had been receiving treatment for his heart problems from the jail doctors, the possibility that the young ward commissioner s life could have been saved had he been provided better treatment cannot be dismissed.

Also, the statement made by the BNP secretary-general, Khandoker Delwar Hossain, in reaction to Quayyum s passing away in which he once again brought up the issue of torture of people in custody cannot be ignored. Although the perception that systematic torture has been carried out on many of those taken into custody during the tenure of this regime has existed for some time, direct allegations of torture was first made by Tarique Rahman, a joint secretary-general of the BNP and son of former prime minister, Khaleda Zia, about a month back. Soon afterwards, allegations of harassment and torture were also made by a Dhaka University teacher who had been detained following the campus protests in August.

By bringing up the issue of torture once again, the BNP secretary-general appears to have suggested that Quayyum s death may have resulted from torture while in custody, a very serious allegation that would be highly worrying if true. Hence, it is extremely important that the government look into the death of the ward commissioner and make an honest assessment of why he died at such a young age.

This is particularly important because the deceased was an elected office-holder against whom there appears to not have been any cases filed or complaints lodged, even though he was kept detained in custody for over a year. Also, we ask this military-controlled government once again to look into the matter of harassment and torture of those is custody, which not only breaches every human rights instrument but also directly violates our constitution, and to immediately cease such activities if the allegations are found to be true.

Lastly, we urge the government to provide proper medical care to those in custody, many of whom are suffering from serious diseases and illnesses.

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