Dhaka: The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the High Court order that asked to withdraw the officer‐in‐charge (OC) and sub‐inspector (SI) of Madaripur Sadar Police Station immediately for keeping two women detained for long preventing their children from breastfeeding.

A four‐member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice SK Sinha, passed the order following separate petitions.

Earlier, on March 29, the High Court asked the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to withdraw OC Ziaul Morshed and SI M Mahtab of Madaripur Sadar Police Station immediately over the issue.

The court also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain why the inhumane incident of keeping two mothers in police custody for 13 hours preventing their children from breastfeeding should not be declared illegal and unlawful and asked the IGP to submit an investigation report over the incident on 8 May  next.

Rana Kawsar, a lawyer, filed a petition attaching a newspaper report headlined ‘Two mothers suffer for 13 hours falling victim to SI’s vengeance’.

According to the writ petition, SI Mahtab had an altercation with one Panir, son of Khaleque Bepari, while investigating a land‐related complaint at Lakshmiganj.

The police officer picked up Panir’s wife Jhunu Begum and his sister‐in‐law Aklima Begum and took them to the police station after keeping their three‐month and 18‐month‐old children respectively away from them. The two women were released at midnight upon bond.