A court has granted bail to Ranjan Chandra, an outsourcing worker at the Secretariat, in a case filed over the theft of the cable connected to the prime minister’s red telephone.
Dhaka’s 6th Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Sadequin Habib Bappi granted his bail on Thursday after hearing a petition filed by his lawyer, Parimal Chandra Barman, said bench assistant Ismail Hossain.
The government’s Eid-ul-Azha holiday began on May 25. When the Secretariat reopened on June 1 after the seven-day holiday, officials found that the red telephone had lost its connection.
BTCL officials subsequently restored the connection within a few hours. The red telephone allows the prime minister to directly communicate with anyone around the world.
BTCL official Mohammad Nazid Haider filed a general diary (GD) with Shahbagh Police Station on June 1 over the incident.
According to the GD, a copper cable running between the old and new No 1 buildings of the Secretariat carried telephone connections for the Prime Minister’s Office, Cabinet Division and Ministry of Public Administration, including their red telephone lines.
The cable was cut on the rooftop, disrupting the red telephone and several other important connections, the GD said.
A case was later filed with Shahbagh Police Station.
Police subsequently arrested Ranjan Chandra and scrap dealer Rezakul Islam, who allegedly bought the stolen cable. A court placed them on a five-day remand on June 5. After the remand, they were sent to jail and remained in custody until Ranjan was granted bail.
