We commend the HC for granting bail to an innocent man—named Manik Hawlader—who had been wrongfully serving the jail sentence handed down to a convict. The actual convict—a man named Manik Miah—was sentenced to four years' imprisonment on February 11, 2019 for possessing 600 bottles of phensidyl. Before the judgement, however, Manik Miah secured bail from the HC and then absconded, mentioning his name as Manik Hawlader in the bail document.

But as the HC rightly observed, that cannot justify why an innocent man was arrested and put in prison in the actual convict's place for months. Why didn't the police verify the authenticity of names, addresses and other details of both individuals? This failure on part of the authorities should be punishable. Moreover, it needs to be investigated why an innocent man was implicated and sent to jail instead of the actual convict, and to find out who were behind this. Was this a case of mistaken identity or a deliberate framing of an innocent man in an attempt to save a criminal? These questions have to be answered through a thorough investigation.

Even if it was a mistake, a mistake of this magnitude cannot simply be ignored. Those responsible for it must be made answerable. And in that regard, we are pleased that the HC has sought the response of various officials involved with the case to explain how they made such a blunder.

While we acknowledge the great effort of the court to right this wrong, we are disappointed at how easily the law can be taken for a ride in our country. While it is important to find out who abused the system, the fact that the system can be abused this easily is in itself worrisome. We have read about other cases of the wrong person being arrested and left languishing in jail for months or even years. Usually, the "mistake", whether unintentional or deliberate, occurs when the case is filed or when the charge sheet is drafted. This calls for greater scrutiny and diligence on the part of the police when investigating an allegation. We call on the government to look into this matter and ensure such mistakes do not reoccur and compensate the innocent man for his travails.