A Barguna court has granted bail to Hum Jalal Sheikh, owner of launch MV Abhijan-10 that caught fire in the middle of the Sugandha River killing at least 47 passengers.
The Barguna Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court granted him bail on Tuesday, confirmed the defendant’s lawyer M Mojibul Haque Kislu.
Ham Jalal Sheikh was arrested on December 26 from Dhaka’s Keraniganj over the deadly inferno and had been in police custody since.
He was arrested after the Marine Court issued an arrest warrant against him and seven others.
Advocate Nazmul Islam had also filed a case with Barguna Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court in the public interest, pleading for his arrest.
The accused applied for bail on February 1, with Court Sub Inspector Zahirul Islam opposing the bail in the hearing on Thursday.
"I told the court that there can not be a case in more than one court on the same issue,” Mojibul told Dhaka Tribune.
Moreover, the court said everything, including the fitness of the launch and the route permit, was alright.
A naval court was set up under section 46 of the Inland Navigation Ordinance 198 to try cases involving ships.
The MV Abhijan-10 left Dhaka for Barguna on December 23 and suddenly caught fire in the middle of Sugandha River at 3pm on December 24.
The flames quickly engulfed the entire launch. killing 47 passengers and injuring 72. Many others are still missing.
