A court in Dhaka has placed a Jagannath University (JnU) student on a three-day remand for questioning in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act over a crude bomb explosion on the university campus.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam passed the order on Wednesday following a petition by the investigation officer. The accused, Md Rezwan Ahmed, 24, is a student of the university.
SI Kamal Uddin of the prosecution department confirmed the remand.
Kotwali police SI and case investigation officer Mohammad Nazmul Alam Tutul produced Rezwan before the court and sought a five-day remand. The petition identified him as the finance affairs secretary of the JnU unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League.
Prosecutor Harun-or-Rashid argued in favour of remand, saying Chhatra League activists had carried out crude bomb explosions in different parts of Dhaka to destabilise the country, spread panic and revive the organisation’s activities. He said Rezwan had been detained with an unexploded crude bomb and needed to be questioned.
Defence lawyer Golam Rabbani opposed the remand and sought bail, questioning the timeline of the incident. He said the explosion was reported around 7pm, while the unexploded crude bomb was allegedly recovered at 11pm, leaving a four-hour gap unaccounted for.
He also claimed that Rezwan had sat an examination that day before being beaten by a mob and handed over to police. The lawyer alleged that the incident was being diverted to implicate Rezwan amid a separate controversy involving a JnU Chhatra Dal leader facing allegations of extortion.
After hearing both sides, the court granted a three-day remand.
According to the case statement, a crude bomb exploded on the paved road near the university’s second gate at around 7:45pm on Monday. JnU Chhatra Dal activists detained Rezwan at the scene with an unexploded crude bomb.
The complaint alleges that, during initial questioning, Rezwan admitted that other named accused and 25 to 30 unidentified people had carried out the explosions to destabilise the country and create public panic.
He was reportedly beaten by an agitated crowd and taken to Sir Salimullah Medical College for primary treatment.
The case was filed with Kotwali Police Station by SI Md Imran Hossain, naming Rezwan, other identified individuals and 25 to 30 unidentified suspects.