Ex-NCP leader alleges torture, mystery injections in police custody

Former National Citizen Party leader Gazi Salahuddin Tanvir has alleged he was severely tortured, deprived of sleep and repeatedly given injections without being told what drugs were being administered while in police and prison custody.

Speaking from a hospital bed in an interview with online media platform Face the People, Tanvir said his health deteriorated sharply after his arrest last month over a Facebook post concerning Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

Tanvir, a former NCP joint member secretary, was released from Dhaka Central Jail on Tuesday after the High Court granted him one-year bail. He was subsequently admitted to the National Institute of Neurosciences Hospital in Dhaka. 

His lawyer said he had “suffered a stroke while in custody.” 

Daily Waadaa could not independently verify Tanvir’s allegations of torture, electric shocks or injections.

Waadaa contacted officials of the Bogura Sadar police station and Detective Branch (DB) of police but the officers did not provide any statement.

‘What are you injecting me with?’

Tanvir said he was healthy when he was taken into custody but later lost mobility in both legs.

“When I had chest pain, they injected me in the chest. When I had back pain, they injected me in the back. They injected me in the heel,” he told Face The People .

“I asked, ‘What are you giving me? What medicine is this?’ They said, ‘No, this is the treatment.’”

Tanvir alleged electricity inside the jail was switched off when injections were administered and that cameras were also turned off.

“They would enter the room carrying a flashlight and give me the injection,” he said.

He also alleged he was given electric shocks while on remand and confined in a room without adequate ventilation or water.

Police had sought seven days to interrogate Tanvir, but a Bogura court granted three days of remand on August 10. 

Tanvir alleged the mistreatment continued after his remand ended.

He said prison guards deliberately prevented him from sleeping by keeping lights on and removing a gamcha, or thin cotton towel, that he used to cover his eyes.

“I could not sleep at night for 40–42 days,” he said.

Tanvir also alleged he was served rotten food and denied adequate medical care despite his deteriorating condition.

He made a further allegation that he was placed inside a malfunctioning MRI machine, which he claimed broke down while he was inside.

“They put me inside a faulty MRI machine to kill me,” he alleged. “Somehow, I survived.”

No independent evidence was immediately available to corroborate his claim that the machine malfunction was deliberate or that it was intended to harm him.

Tanvir said both his legs subsequently became numb and that he can no longer walk.

A woman accompanying him during the interview said the family also faced difficulties visiting him. She alleged he was given stale food and kept on a bare floor during remand, where he slept on a prayer mat.

She said Tanvir suffered a stroke on August 15, shortly after his three-day remand and return to jail.

His lawyer, Ejaz Al Wasi, has also said Tanvir suffered a stroke in custody on August 15 and was experiencing panic disorder, severe headaches and cervical spondylosis. 

Arrest followed Facebook post on PM

Tanvir’s detention followed a political controversy over Facebook posts about Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

According to the case statement, Tanvir posted remarks on July 29 in the context of alleged attacks and obstruction faced by NCP programmes in Sylhet. The complaint accused him of making defamatory and provocative remarks about the prime minister. 

Tanvir said in the Face the People interview that his post referred to Ziaur Rahman, the prime minister’s father, being born in Karachi.

“People used to say that Tarique Rahman’s father was born in Karachi,” Tanvir said, describing what he had written. “He is Ziaur Rahman’s son. That is what I wrote.”

He said he later clarified his remarks in the comment section and posted a link explaining the reference.

Tanvir deleted the Facebook post after it drew criticism and publicly apologised. Screenshots, however, continued circulating online. 

The NCP temporarily relieved him of his organisational responsibilities on July 31 and issued a show-cause notice, accusing him of breaching party discipline. 

Tanvir had previously faced disciplinary action from the NCP in April 2025 over separate allegations concerning interference in deputy commissioner appointments and commission-based dealings related to textbook printing. Contemporary reports later described him as an expelled NCP leader. 

On August 2, Maftun Ahmed Khan Rubel, president of the Bogura Sadar Upazila BNP, filed a case against Tanvir with Bogura Sadar Police Station under the Cyber Security Act. 

The complaint alleged his posts defamed the prime minister and were provocative. 

A Bogura Detective Branch team arrested him from Monipuripara in Dhaka in the early hours of August 5. He was taken to Bogura and produced before Senior Judicial Magistrate Mehedi Hasan, who sent him to jail the same day. 

Tanvir told Face the People that he never attempted to evade police.

“I did not switch off my phone. I did not turn off my location. I was moving around normally,” he said.

“During Hasina’s time, people were arrested or disappeared for writing something. We did not want that after August 5.”

Bail granted on health grounds

Tanvir subsequently became ill and was admitted to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital in Bogura before being transferred to Dhaka Central Jail for advanced treatment. He also received treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital while in custody. 

His lawyers sought an expedited bail hearing as his health deteriorated.

The High Court granted him one-year bail on September 9 following a petition filed by senior Supreme Court lawyer Tajul Islam, a member of his defence team and former chief prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal. Supreme Court records also show the High Court proceeding in Tanvir’s bail matter. 

Ejaz Al Wasi, senior joint member secretary of the NCP’s Bogura district unit and one of Tanvir’s lawyers, said the defence sought bail because Tanvir urgently needed medical treatment.

“Given his critical condition and urgent need for medical treatment, we sought bail through legal proceedings. The court has granted our application,” Dhaka Tribune newspaper quoted Wasi as saying. 

Tanvir was released from Dhaka Central Jail on Tuesday evening after the legal formalities were completed and was taken to the National Institute of Neurosciences Hospital.

From his hospital bed, Tanvir said the treatment he allegedly endured was incompatible with the political change promised after the 2024 uprising.

“I had only made a simple post,” he said. “We did not carry out August 5 for this.”

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