Charges against Fakhrul, 44 others accepted Khokon sent to jail,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

A Dhaka court on Monday accepted bus torching charges against BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and 44 other opposition leaders and activists.

Meanwhile, BNP lawmaker Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon, an accused in the case, was denied bail and sent to jail on his surrender.

Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Erfanullah also issued arrest warrants against Jamaat-e-Islami acting ameer Maqbul Ahmed and three others as they went into hiding after the case was filed.

Following today's order, lawyers loyal to the opposition alliance burst into rages. They brought out a procession on the court premises and chanted slogans demanding withdrawal of the case.

Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum, a platform of pro-BNP lawyers, decided to boycott all the judge’s and magistrate’s courts of Dhaka on Tuesday as its general secretary Khokon was to jail.

Earlier on May 16, Fakhrul and 32 other leaders of the BNP-led 18-party alliance were sent to jail in connection with the case filed for torching a bus near the Prime Minister's Office during hartal on April 29.

Police earlier arrested BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed and six others in the same case.

Obaidul Haque Nasir, a joint convener of Dhaka University Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal unit and an 45th accused in the bus torching case, remains absconding.

The court sent Khokon to jail after rejecting a petition seeking extension of his bail which expired on Monday.

Earlier on May 9, Khokon was granted bail till today in the case.

ARSON CASE

Tejgaon police filed a case against a number of leaders and workers of 18-party alliance, including BNP leaders Mirza Fakhrul, Mirza Abbas and Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed; and Liberal Democratic Party President Oli Ahmed, hours after a vehicle was set ablaze near the PMO during hartal hours on April 29.

The same day, Ramna police filed another case against top leaders of the alliance for exploding a 'bomb' at the Bangladesh Secretariat that day.

After the cases were filed, the top accused BNP leaders went into hiding and turned up at the High Court on May 7 to seek bail.

But a two-member HC bench delivered dissenting orders on seven bail petitions.

Meanwhile on May 10, detectives pressed charges against 45 leaders and activists of BNP-led 18-party alliance, including the BNP acting secretary general in the arson case.

DISSENTING ORDER

Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, senor judge of a High Court bench, granted anticipatory bail to the accused until police submits their reports on the cases. He issued seven separate rules upon the government to explain in four weeks as to why the petitioners should not be granted regular bail.

Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder, the other judge, however, directed the politicians accused to surrender before the magistrate's court concerned within seven days and ordered law enforcers not to harass or arrest them during the period.

Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain sent the case to a third HC bench on May 10 for its final disposal.

The third bench on May 13 ordered the 37 accused to surrender before the trial court.

Accordingly, they surrendered before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court on May 16 and the court sent 33 top opposition leaders to jail rejecting their bail petitions.