A Dhaka court on Sunday placed five people on five-day remand each in a case filed over the killings of Awami League leader Jahidul Islam Tipu and a bystander on a busy street in Dhaka’s Shahjahanpur on March 24.
Metropolitan Magistrate Syed Mostafa Reza Nur passed the order after Mohammad Yasin Sikder, an inspector of the Detective Branch of Police and investigation officer of the case produced the arrestees before the court seeking a 10-day remand for each of them.
Those remanded are-- Omar Farooq (52), AL general secretary of Dhaka South City Corporation Ward-10 unit, Nasir Hossain alias Killer Nasir, Saleh Sikder alias Shooter Saleh, Md Moreshedul Alam alias Kailla Palash and Arfan Ullah Damal.
Before the remand order, Damal, held in an arms case, was shown arrested in the murder case following an application submitted by the IO.
In the remand plea, the IO said the accused were directly involved with the killing of AL Leader Tipu.
Moreover, a special drive may be needed to arrest others involved with the murder and to recover arms, he said.
Opposing the remand prayer, defence lawyers submitted two separate petitions seeking bail for their clients and remand rejection prayer. The court rejected the petitions after the hearing.
Aminul Ahsan Masum, lawyer for Omar Farooq, told the court that his client was picked up by RAB from Tipu's funeral prayer and was not shown arrested in any case.
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Moreover, he fears that his client might be killed in cross-fire if placed on remand. He pleaded with the court so that his client is interrogated at the jail gate.
The defence also claimed that Saleh had been admitted to a hospital since January 28 and questioned how could he be involved with the killing.
Fifty-four-year-old Tipu was gunned down on the night of March 24 under a flyover outside Manama Bhaban in Shahjahanpur’s Amtala. A gunman wearing a helmet on a motorcycle pulled up next to Tipu’s car and opened fire.
Samia Afnan Prity, a 22-year-old student of Begum Badrunnesa Government Girls’ College, was killed when a stray bullet her.
According to police, Tipu was accused and arrested in the 2013 murder of Jubo League leader Reazul Haque Khan Milky, but was later relieved of the charges.
