A court has granted a further three-day remand for former dismissed DGFI official Md Afzal Naser, who was arrested in a case filed over the murder of BNP activist Makbul at Paltan Model Police Station in the capital.
On Tuesday afternoon, following a hearing, the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Jamsed Alam passed the order.
After completing 15 days of remand in four phases, the investigation officer, Sub-Inspector Md Tofazzal Hossain of the Special Operations Team under the Detective Branch (Motijheel Division), produced the accused before the court and sought a fresh five-day remand.
In the remand application, it was stated that the accused had voluntarily assisted the previous government in suppressing political opposition in various ways. According to different sources, he played a significant behind-the-scenes role in the incident related to this case as part of efforts to suppress opposition forces. The case is described as a political murder and remains under investigation. Information regarding the accused’s involvement has been found, and therefore, further intensive interrogation in police custody is necessary.
Meanwhile, defence lawyers sought cancellation of the remand and bail for the accused. The plea was opposed by the state prosecutor Md Azizul Haque Didar. After hearing both sides, the court granted a three-day remand.
According to case details, the accused was arrested on March 30 from a house (No. 864, Road 12) in Mirpur DOHS by the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. He had previously been remanded for 15 days in four phases.
The case states that on December 10, 2022, BNP announced a programme to press for its demands. Prior to that, on December 7, DB police officials Harun-or-Rashid, Mehedi Hasan and Biplab Kumar conducted a raid at the BNP’s Naya Paltan office, during which vandalism occurred. Thousands of party activists gathered nearby were also attacked. Makbul Hossain, a party activist, was shot and killed during the incident. On September 30, Mahfuzur Rahman filed the case against 256 individuals, including Sheikh Hasina.
