Police request BNP's Fakhrul, Khosru be remanded for 10 days in sabotage case

The BNP leaders were arrested in connection with the violence surrounding the party's Oct 28 rally in Dhaka
Express Report
  ১৮ ডিসেম্বর ২০২৩, ১৫:২৫

Police have requested that BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and BNP Standing Committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury be shown arrested and remanded for 10 days in a sabotage case filed with Paltan Model Police Station.

The petition was filed with the court by the investigating officer in the case, Deputy Inspector Sumit Kumar Saha. A hearing on the petition will be held at 1 pm on Monday, said lawyer Masud Ahmed Talukder, who is involved in the case.

The petition claims that Mirza Fakhrul and Amir Khosru conspired to stir an illegal riot that attacked law enforcers, detonated improvised explosives, caused serious injury, damaged property and led to public panic.

"The suspects noted are central BNP leaders," the petition said. "On the day of the incident, they openly directed leaders and activists of the BNP and its affiliate organisations to create an atmosphere of sabotage and anarchy. Following this, the suspects named in the case and other fugitive suspects attacked police in front of Paltan Model Police Station with improvised weapons and seriously injured police personnel by detonating improvised explosives."

The police then requested 10 days to interrogate Mirza Fakhrul and Amir Khosru in their custody to unravel the case and capture the fugitive suspects.

Mirza Fakhrul has been in jail in a case filed over an attack on the residence of the chief justice. The High Court issued a rule asking why the BNP leader should not be granted bail. The decision on the bail was scheduled for Sunday but was deferred to Jan 3.

On Oct 28, the BNP called a rally in Dhaka to press home its demand for the institution of a neutral caretaker government ahead of the upcoming national elections.

But the BNP's programme took a tumultuous turn as deadly clashes between party loyalists and the police erupted in Kakrail. The opposition group subsequently suspended their rally and called a nationwide shutdown to protest the police crackdown.

Several vehicles were vandalised and torched during the clashes, while mobs also attacked journalists. A police constable was beaten to death at the Dainik Bangla intersection during the clashes.

The home of the chief justice was also vandalised during the clashes.

Mirza Fakhrul called for a nationwide shutdown in the wake of the violence. Detective police subsequently arrested him from his home in Gulshan on the morning of the hartal on Oct 29.

The following day, he was refused bail and sent to jail. The case filed at the Ramna Police Station revolves around the violence surrounding the BNP rally.

The protesters, allegedly acting on instructions from the BNP's top brass, chanted anti-state slogans and vandalised several vehicles, including buses, leading to damages worth around Tk 2 million.

They are accused of obstructing police work, attempting assault with intent to kill law enforcement personnel, and detonating Molotov cocktails, causing injuries to police personnel.

The BNP activists illegally entered the chief justice's residence after breaking the gate on the building's eastern side, the case documents claim. There, they allegedly pelted bricks and caused damage to various parts of the building, including the nameplate.

Amir Khosru was arrested from his Gulshan home at 1 am on Nov 3 by the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police over the murder case of police constable Amirul Islam Parvez.

He was brought before a court, and DB Inspector Md Tarikul Islam petitioned the court to interrogate him in their custody for 10 days. The court granted the DB six days of remand. Amir Khosru is currently in jail.