A Dhaka court yesterday sent to jail Bakhtiar Alam Rony, son of a ruling party lawmaker, accused of killing two people under the influence of alcohol, after his remand in DB custody ended.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Muhammad Asaduzzaman Nur passed the order after DB Sub-Inspector Dipak Kumar Das, also investigation officer of the case, produced Rony before the court in the afternoon.
The court also granted a defence petition for admitting Rony to hospital. It fixed Tuesday for hearing the bail petition filed by Rony’s lawyer.
Rony had covered his head with a towel when photojournalists wanted to take his picture on the court premises.
In a report submitted to the court yesterday, the IO mentioned they had found Rony’s direct involvement in the killing of two innocent people on April 13. He also requested to the court to send Rony to jail for a proper investigation of the case.
On June 1, a Dhaka court granted the DB police four days to interrogate Rony. As he pretended to be sick, the law enforcers took him to three hospitals and the interrogation began on June 9.
Yakub Sikder, driver of a CNG-run auto-rickshaw of the daily Janakantha, and Abdul Halim, a rickshaw-puller, received bullet injuries when Rony fired at people indiscriminately at Dilu Road on that night. Halim died on the spot while Yakub succumbed to his injuries at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Imran Fakir, driver of the Prado jeep, has already made a confessional statement before a magistrate confirming that the MP’s son had been drunk when he shot at the people. Rony and three of his friends were in the vehicle at the time of the incident.
Son of lawmaker Pinu Khan, also general secretary of Mahila Awami League, Rony was going towards Banglamotor from Moghbazar around 1:45am when the incident took place.
Seeing a traffic gridlock, Rony expressed outrage at the people, fired four to five rounds of bullets and left the place immediately.
During remand, Rony claimed that he had no idea about the deaths of the two persons.
Police arrested Rony on May 29 upon information given by his driver Imran Fakir, the IO said.
Halim’s mother Monowara Begum filed the case with Ramna police. It was later shifted to the Detective Branch of police.
Tracking the jeep
A senior official of the DB police said, after the shooting, they had launched an investigation voluntarily and primarily got information about a white microbus.
Soon they met a watermelon trader who claimed that it was a black microbus-like vehicle. It was going towards Banglamotor from Moghbazar.
The detectives then collected footage from the daily Janakantha office on Eskaton Road, and found that six vehicles – an ambulance, four cars and a Prado jeep – used that road at the time of shooting, the DB official said seeking anonymity.
After analysing the footage that showed the jeep, the DB team recognised its numberplate and later came to know that it was owned by a ruling party leader. This revelation apparently slowed down the pace of the probe the DB police were carrying out, the official said.
