Staff Reporter:
A court in Dhaka on Friday sent 16 individuals, including former minister Abdul Latif Siddique, to jail in a case filed on charges of pushing the country towards armed struggle and plotting against the interim government.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Sarah Farzana Haque passed the order after the police produced them before the court this morning.
Other accused sent to jail are – Md Abdullah Al Amin, 73, Sheikh Hafizur Rahman Karzon, 55, Monjurul Alam, 49, Kazi ATM Anisur Rahman Bulbul, 72, Golam Mostofa, 81, Md Mohiul Islam alias Babu, 64, Md Zakir Hossain, 74, Md Tousiful Bari Khan, 72, Md Amir Hossain Sumon, 37, Md Al Amin, 40, Md Nazmul Ahsan, 35, Syed Shahed Hasan, 36, Md Shafiqul Islam Delwar, 64, Dewan Mohammad Ali, 50, and Md Abdullahil Kaiyum, 61.
Shahbagh police station Sub-Inspector (SI) Toufiq Hasan, also the investigating officer of the case, submitted a petition, seeking the court’s order to keep the accused behind bars.
Although several lawyers sought bail for their clients during the hearing, no lawyer stood for Latif Siddique.
Additional Public Prosecutor Md Shamsuddoha Sumon opposed the bail petitions and sought the court’s order to send the accused to jail.
Latif Siddique, Dhaka University Prof Sheikh Hafizur Rahman Karzon, journalist Monjurul Alam, and 13 others were shown arrested in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act on Thursday night, hours after they were detained from a programme in Dhaka.
Shahbagh police station SI Amirul Islam lodged the case.
On Thursday morning, the former minister and others attended a discussion titled “Our Great Liberation War and the Constitution of Bangladesh,” organised by a platform called Mancha 71 at the Dhaka Reporters Unity auditorium.
The programme, scheduled for 10am, began an hour late. Soon after Prof Sheikh Hafizur’s speech, a group of people identifying themselves as “July Fighters” stormed the venue and confined the organisers and guests after accusing them of attempting to create chaos.
They chanted various slogans and tore the banner, and later handed over 16 attendees, including Latif Siddique and Prof Hafizur, to the police, who escorted them to the Detective Branch (DB) office.
