Criminal Cases: Complainants have to provide proof of identity

The High Court in a full text of an order has issued five directives to ensure that the identities of informants and complainants of criminal cases are recorded.

The informants and complainants must submit photocopies of their national identity cards, or passports and theirnumbers to the police stations or courts concerned when they file cases so that police can find them during investigation.

If any informant or complaint doesn't have national identity cards, the photocopy of the ID card of the person, who identifies the informant or complaint, must be submitted to the police station or court concerned during filing of the case, the HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman said in the full text of the order.

The bench released the two-page order on Wednesday.

On June 14, the HC bench delivered a short order following a writ petition filed by a businessman, Ekramul Ahsan Kanchan, who has been implicated in 49 criminal cases, seeking necessary directives to identify the informants and complainants.

On that day, the HC bench has ruled that the informants and complainants must submit the photocopies of their national identity cards and phone numbers to the police stations or courts when they file cases.

The court ordered the Criminal Investigation Department of police to enquire into the 49 criminal cases filed against Ekramul to find the informants and complainants. The CID has also been asked to submit the enquiry report to the HC within 60 days.

Besides, the court issued a rule asking the authorities concerned of the government to explain why they should not be directed to find the informants and complainants of the cases filed against Ekramul.

In the full text of the order, the HC bench ruled that the police officers concerned will follow other relevant procedures of their own consideration to identity the informants if their national identity cards or passports are not available.

The lawyers concerned of the complaints will identity them (complaints) when they file cases with tribunals or courts if they have no national identity cards or passports, the HC said in the full text of order.

In the order, the HC judges said if the informants and complainants are foreign citizens or expatriates, they must mention the numbers of passports of the countries concerned while filing the cases.

On June 14, petitioner Ekramul's lawyers Zainul Abedin and Enamul Hoque Bosir told The Daily Star that 49 criminal cases have been filed with different police stations and courts across the country against their client Ekramul, a businessman from the capital's Shantinagar, on various charges, including murder, rape, torture of women, extortion and human trafficking, in last 11 years.

Ekramul has been acquitted and exempted of 36 cases and trial proceedings of the rest are running, the lawyers said, adding that their client has suffered in jail for over eight years in connection with 40 cases.

They said Ekramul is now out on bail.

Ekramul told The Daily Star that a group has filed "fake" cases against him in 13 districts in order to grab his land, house and factory. "I don't know the complainants and informants by face," he said.