Barisal Metropolitan Police (BMP) yesterday suspended five more members of its detective branch, for torturing Sumon Hasan, a journalist of privately-run television channel DBC news.

With this, a total of 8 staff of BMP detective branch have been suspended, police said.

The suspended officials are assistant sub-inspectors Aktaruzzaman and Swapon Kumar Dey, Sub-Inspector Abul Bashar, and constables Masududul Haque Masud, Chowdhury Rasel, Abdur Rahim, Kazi Saiful and Hasan, said Assistant Commissioner (DB) of BMP Nasiruddin Mallik.

The suspension order came at a meeting held between the police commissioner and different journalist associations on Sunday.  A three-member probe committee has found them all guilty of torturing Sumon, the commissioner said, adding, departmental action would be taken against them soon. 

Meanwhile, Uttam Kumar Paul, deputy police commissioner of DB, has been released from his additional duties and Moajjem Hossain Bhuiyan has taken charges, said Nasiruddin Mallick, Assistant Police Commissioner of BMP.

On March 13, a DB team, led by Sub-Inspector Abul Bashar, had an alteration with Sumon Hasan during a police drive near old "Beauty Hall" in the city.

At one stage, the DB team swooped on the journalist leaving him unconscious.

The law enforcers then took Sumon to their office and tortured him again.

They also assaulted some senior journalists when they went to the DB office the same day.

Later, the journalists informed the matter to BMP Deputy Commissioner Golam Rauf who regretted the incident and ordered actions against the eight DB men.

Sumon alleged that the DB team attacked him when he asked about the drive.

He is currently undergoing treatment at Barisal Sher-E-Bangla Medical College Hospital.