A Dhaka court has ordered former information adviser to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and DBC News Chairman Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury to be sent to jail in a case filed over the killing of madrasa student Md Arif in Jatrabari during the July uprising.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Sarah Farzana Haque passed the order on Thursday following a petition filed by the investigation officer, said public prosecutor Muhammad Shamsuddoha Chowdhury.
Sub-Inspector Mohammad Amir Hossain of Jatrabari police station and also the investigation officer of the case sought an order to keep Iqbal Sobhan in jail.
Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury's lawyer Chowdhury Mohammad Galib Ragib did not seek bail but requested proper medical treatment and division facilities for his client.
He told the court that Iqbal Sobhan is a senior journalist and CEO of DBC News who suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and neurological complications. He requested the court to ensure that his client receives division facilities and proper medical care in jail.
During the hearing, Dhaka Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Omar Faruq Faruqi outlined the allegations against Iqbal Sobhan.
He alleged that Iqbal Sobhan secured ownership of DBC News by pleasing Sheikh Hasina and was subsequently appointed her information adviser. In that capacity, he allegedly facilitated the issuance of television licences and exercised control over the media.
The prosecutor further alleged that the former adviser took steps to prevent protesters' statements from being broadcast during the July uprising. He also accused him of forming an organisation with journalist Mozammel Haque Babu and bringing television channels under government control.
Faruqui claimed that Iqbal Sobhan amassed considerable wealth in the Gulshan and Banani areas through these activities before going into hiding following the fall of the Hasina government. Law enforcement agencies arrested him on Wednesday, he added.
The defence lawyer Chowdhury Mohammad Galib Ragib said Iqbal Sobhan had served as the former prime minister's information adviser, a position equivalent in rank to a state minister, and requested that his status be considered under the jail code.
In response, the public prosecutor said no official declaration had been made recognising Iqbal Sobhan's position as equivalent to that of a state minister.
After hearing both sides, the court ordered his detention in jail, saying he would be granted any applicable privileges after the relevant matters had been examined.
Police arrested Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury from the DBC News office in the capital’s Mohakhali area on Wednesday afternoon. They also took the television channel’s chief crime reporter, Rajib Ghosh, into custody.
Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury is also the editor and publisher of The Daily Observer.
Following the arrest, DMP Deputy Commissioner (Public Relations) Aktar Hossain said an “untoward situation” had arisen at DBC over the broadcast of a news report.
“Journalists Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury and Rajib Ghosh were taken into DB custody from there,” he said.
However, he did not elaborate on the circumstances that led to the incident.
Later that night, police showed Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury arrested in the murder case.
Meanwhile, DMP Detective Branch chief Shafiqul Islam said a decision had been made to release DBC News special correspondent Rajib Ghosh after obtaining a bond from him.
According to the case statement, Arif, a first-year Alim student at Lord Hardinge Senior Fazil Madrasa, was shot in the eye during an exchange of gunfire between police and Awami League leaders and activists near Boubazar in Jatrabari’s Kutubkhali area on the afternoon of July 19, 2024, during the July uprising.
He was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where the on-duty doctors declared him dead.
Arif’s father, Md Yusuf filed a murder case with Jatrabari Police Station on August 25, 2024, naming Sheikh Hasina and 232 others.
Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury is listed as the 53rd accused in the case.