Jamalganj AC Land Changed After Seeing Drowned Child's Body, Wife Says: New Details Emerge as He Receives Treatment in Dhaka
The behaviour of Assistant Commissioner (Land) Arifur Rahman Shanto of Jamalganj in Sunamganj changed abruptly after he saw the body of a child who had drowned, his wife Sadia Mou Suchona has said. From that point on, his behaviour became incoherent. Her new account gives a clearer picture of how the episode began.
On Friday night (October 23), discussion arose around an unpleasant incident involving the AC Land and an Ansar member, and a post made from his official Facebook ID. He was later sent to Dhaka for advanced treatment. Since then, the incident has been widely discussed among the local administration and the general public.
Arifur Rahman Shanto is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Dhaka's Panthapath area. His father-in-law, Mohsin Mia, has said his physical condition is now good. His wife is also at the hospital with him. This update from the family offers some reassurance for the moment.
Upazila administration sources say Arifur Rahman Shanto joined Jamalganj as Assistant Commissioner (Land) about two months ago. According to his wife, on Thursday (October 22) he broke down mentally after seeing the body of a child who had drowned in the Behali area of the upazila, and his behaviour changed from that point.
On Friday night (October 23), his behaviour became even more incoherent. It is alleged that he behaved aggressively towards two Ansar members on duty at the time. There are also allegations that he beat one Ansar member and smashed his mobile phone. Those incidents made the situation more complicated still.
The same night, a post was made from Arifur Rahman Shanto's official Facebook ID. It read, 'Shilpi Rani Modak will be responsible for my death.' As the post spread, it created a sensation among the local administration and the general public.
Jamalganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Shilpi Rani Modak later informed the district administration about the matter. At the same time, a post from the UNO's Facebook ID said the mobile phone used by the AC Land had been hacked to spread confusion, and requested everyone not to be misled.
To handle the situation, the UNO went to the AC Land's official residence accompanied by Jamalganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Bande Ali Mia, Upazila Health Complex Resident Medical Officer Abdul Baten and Land Office Nazir Sabbir Ahmed. The next steps were taken after assessing the situation there.
There, the AC Land's wife did not allow the others to enter but requested the doctor to go inside. When Dr Abdul Baten went in, she asked him whether two injections named 'Helocin' and 'Parkinil' could be found in Jamalganj. As neither injection was available at any local pharmacy, the doctor administered an alternative injection he had with him. When that did not work, he advised sending the officer to Sylhet for advanced treatment.
Jamalganj Upazila Health Complex Resident Medical Officer Abdul Baten said that although the AC Land's wife mentioned two specific injections, as they were not available locally a sleeping injection was given. But when that had no effect, he advised sending him to Sylhet for advanced treatment. He is believed to have been suffering from extreme mental stress.
Jamalganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Bande Ali Mia said that, speaking to the AC Land's wife, it was understood that he had behaved erratically like this a couple of times before as well. He was put to sleep with a sleeping injection. The police account suggests such behaviour was not entirely new in his case.
Jamalganj UNO Shilpi Rani Modak said the AC Land joined two months ago. She said she had learned in the meantime that he was physically ill, but only learned on Friday that he was mentally ill. The UNO added that at around 10:30 pm on Friday the AC Land beat an Ansar member and ran to beat small children. His wife said he had been behaving this way since seeing the body of the child who drowned in Behali on Thursday.
The AC Land's father-in-law Mohsin Mia said Shanto is receiving treatment at a private hospital in Dhaka's Panthapath. His daughter is with him. Shanto became mentally ill after seeing the body of the drowned child. His physical condition is now good. From the family's side, seeing that child's body has repeatedly been cited as the starting point of the episode.
Sunamganj Additional Deputy Commissioner Matiur Rahman Khan said the Jamalganj UNO informed the Deputy Commissioner late on Friday night. He said there was no dispute between the officer and the UNO. The officer had been somewhat mentally unwell beforehand, and seeing the body of a child who had fallen into the water worsened his illness. He is now receiving treatment at a private hospital in Dhaka, and his wife has said he is well. The district administration's statement also dismisses rumours of a dispute with the UNO.
Taken together, the picture that now emerges is that the sight of a child's tragic death deeply shook a young officer's mental state, and the chain of events that followed kept the local administration busy through the night. All eyes are now on his treatment — the main question is when, after treatment in Dhaka, he will recover and be able to return to normal life and his workplace.
