Since their names were included in the charge sheet of the Kibria murder case, Sylhet city mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury and Habiganj municipality mayor GK Gaus have not appeared in public in over a month.
Ariful and Gaus – both BNP leaders – have neither attended their respective offices nor joined any political programme of their party since mid-November.
However, local BNP activists claimed that without appearing in public, both leaders continue to issue directives to the party members.
Meanwhile, one of Ariful’s close aides told the Dhaka Tribune that the Sylhet mayor would surrender before the Habiganj court today. On condition of anonymity, the source said Ariful – who is currently staying in Sylhet – would appear before the court with 200 lawyers including five senior lawyers of Sylhet District Bar Association to submit a bail petition.
On November 13, the police submitted a supplementary charge sheet against 35 people including 11 new in former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria murder case. The freshly-indicted accused included Arif and Gaus as well Harris Chowdhury, a former political adviser to Khaleda Zia.
Yesterday, a Habiganj court issued arrest warrants against 11 accused in the case, including Ariful and Gaus.
On January 27, 2005, five people including Kibria were killed in a grenade attack after attending a rally in Boidyer Bazar of Habiganj.