Serious security lapses were evident on Tuesday when pro-BNP lawyers assaulted Hasanul Haq Inu, president of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JaSaD) and Rashed Khan Menon, president of the Workers Party of Bangladesh, at Dhaka's Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court.
The two leaders were brought to the court at 4:50pm and placed in the court’s holding cell.
Despite the presence of additional security forces, including police and army personnel, the situation quickly deteriorated when they were moved to the courtroom at 5:10pm. A group of lawyers, bypassing the security, managed to throw eggs and shoes at Inu and Menon. Some even physically assaulted them by landing punches and blows.
The attack highlighted significant shortcomings in court security, as the assailants were able to approach and harm the leaders without immediate intervention from the security personnel present. Even though the court proceedings began at 5:12pm, the assault continued, with lawyers throwing eggs that splattered on the walls and landed on the leaders' shoulders, demanding the death penalty for them.
The court, during the same session, dealt with a request to remand Menon in a case filed over the killing of garment worker Rubel.
Despite his lawyer's plea for bail due to Menon's age and health, the court granted the police a six-day remand.
Similarly, a seven-day remand was granted for Inu in a case filed over the killing of businessman Abdul Wadud murder case after his bail request was denied.
As the hearing concluded and the two politicians were escorted back to the holding cell, the security breach continued. The lawyers once again managed to physically assault them and throw shoes.
Similar incidents have occurred in the last few days, raising concerns about the effectiveness of security measures at courts.
On August 14, hundreds of people, including pro-BNP lawyers, threw eggs at Awami League leaders and former lawmakers Anisul Huq and Salman F Rahman as the prison van carrying them from the Detective Branch office arrived at Dhaka’s CMM court.
In a separate incident on Saturday, AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik, a retired judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, faced a similar attack. As he was being taken to the courtroom of Sylhet Judicial Magistrate-1 Alamgir Hossain, several individuals threw eggs and shoes at him, with some even attempting to physically assault him.
The next day, former lawmaker Golam Dastagir Gazi, chairman of Gazi Group, too was pelted with eggs when Rupganj police brought him to a Narayanganj court with a remand plea in a murder case.
