A rickshaw puller detained from Dhanmondi 32, and later shown arrested in an attempted murder case, has been granted bail.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate MA Azharul Islam’s court issued the bail order for Md Azizur Rahman, 27, on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, Azizur's lawyer, Farzana Yasmin Rakhi, filed a bail petition. Later, the court granted bail until the submission of the investigation report on a bond of Tk1,000.
Azizur was detained while placing flowers at Dhanmondi 32 on Friday. The next day, he was shown arrested and produced before a Dhaka court, which later ordered him to be sent to jail.
On the day of the incident, Azizur had said he did not belong to any party and that he had gone there only because "I love Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.”
“I did not go there to bring back the Awami League or Sheikh Hasina. I did because I love Bangabandhu, and so I took flowers there, bought with my halal earnings.”
The detention petition stated that during the incident, eyewitnesses and the complainant confirmed in interrogation that Azizur was involved in the aforementioned case.
It also mentioned that since Azizur was detained by members of the public at Dhanmondi 32, he sustained minor injuries during a scuffle. For the sake of investigation, it is essential to keep him in custody, it added.
Case statement
according to the case statement, on August 4 last year, during the July uprising, one Md Ariful Islam was leading a procession from New Market towards the Science Laboratory area.
At around 2:30pm that day, the accused fired bullets and hurled petrol bombs and hand bombs. A bullet entered through the victim’s back, causing him to collapse instantly.
He later underwent two months of treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and recovered.
In connection with the incident, on April 2 this year, the victim, Ariful, filed the attempted murder case at Dhanmondi police station.
DMP statement
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) in a statement issued on Sunday said that Azizur was not arrested as an accused in any murder case.
The DMP stated that the rickshaw-puller was produced in court on Saturday as a suspect in a regular case filed at Dhanmondi police station in April this year.
"Misleading information is being circulated on social media and by some news outlets regarding the matter. In particular, the claim that Azizur Rahman was arrested as an accused in a murder case is completely false and intentional."
The DMP added that the case in which Azizur was produced in court as a suspect is a regular case under the Penal Code, but many are portraying it as a murder case, which is baseless.
OC asked to explain arrest
Meanwhile, the government in a statement said that the officer-in-charge (OC) of Dhanmondi police station has been asked to explain on what grounds Azizur was arrested as a suspect in a case.
At the same time, the DMP has taken steps to review whether there were any irregularities in the recent activities and statements of the police officer.
The government also directed that, per Section 173(A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), an investigation report on Azizur Rahman’s involvement in the case be submitted without delay.
