5 police officers suspended after Picchi Raja escapes
Collected Photo
Authorities suspended five police officers after Raja, alias Picchi Raja escaped under the pretext of using the restroom while being transferred to a Gazipur jail.
Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Acting Commissioner Mohammad Taherul Haque Chauhan confirmed the matter on Monday and formed a three-member investigation committee to probe the escape. DC Headquarters will lead the investigation committee.
Taherul said the escape occurred around 8 pm on Sunday in the Naojor area under Basan Police Station in Gazipur while officers were transporting Raja to Kashimpur Central Jail.
According to the police, they transported Raja in a prison van to the Dhaka Metropolitan Court on Sunday morning. Following the hearing, officers were taking him back to Kashimpur Central Jail. When the prison van reached the Naojor area, he requested to use the restroom.
Duty police officers then escorted him to a restroom, where he tricked the officers and fled. He previously lived at Geneva Camp in Mohammadpur, Dhaka.
Police initially arrested Raja - known as a top drug dealer in Mohammadpur - on 19 May. After receiving news that Raja, his wife, and his brother-in-law were returning to Bangladesh from Nepal, police took up positions at the airport and took them into custody with assistance from immigration police.
Mohammadpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abdul Halim said Raja faces nearly 25 cases, including charges related to drugs and weapons.
