Comilla carnage: Police to seek new remand order for Iqbal, 3 others
Police escort Iqbal Hossain off a court premises in Comilla on Saturday, October 23, 2021 Dhaka Tribune
Masud Alam, Comilla
Publish : 29 Oct 2021, 01:01 PMUpdate : 29 Oct 2021, 01:02 PM
Police in Comilla will move the court on Friday for another round of remand for Iqbal, the prime suspect in the case over violence against Hindus and three others.
Investigators have already quizzed the suspects in custody after the court remanded the suspects last week.
“Iqbal and the three other suspects need to be further interrogated. Their seven-day remand ends on Friday. We will seek another seven days to question them,” Special Superintendent Khan Mohammad Rezwan of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) told Dhaka Tribune.
Screengrab from security camera footage shows Iqbal Hossain, walking away with a club from the Nanuardighi Durga Puja venue in Comilla on Wednesday, October 13, 2021 Dhaka Tribune
The three other suspects are Ekram, who called 999 to report the incident, and Darogabari shrine caretakers, Hafez Humayun and Faisal.
Earlier on October 23, the four men were produced before the court of a senior judicial magistrate Mithila Jahan Nipa with 10-day remand plea. The court granted seven days.
Suspect Iqbal, who had been on the run since the incident and arrested from Cox’s Bazar last week, confessed to placing the Quran at the puja pavilion at the city’s Nanuardighi, said police.
"During preliminary interrogation, Iqbal confessed to placing the Quran on the lap of idol of Hanuman (a central character in the Hindu epic of Ramayana), before taking the mace from the idol on October 13," Additional Superintendent of Police M Tanvir Ahmed told the media earlier.
Photo shows Iqbal Hossain of Comilla at the Sadar police station in Cox's Bazar following arrest Courtesy
"According to Iqbal, he dumped the mace into a nearby pond later that night," the senior police officer said after Iqbal’s arrest on October 21.
However, investigators from the CID, which took over the probe later, found the mace at a nearby bush upon information gleaned from Iqbal.
Iqbal’s family, however, claims that he is mentally unstable, and someone might have taken advantage of his condition to make him place the Quran.
Comilla carnage: Police to seek new remand order for Iqbal, 3 others
Police in Comilla will move the court on Friday for another round of remand for Iqbal, the prime suspect in the case over violence against Hindus and three others.
Investigators have already quizzed the suspects in custody after the court remanded the suspects last week.
“Iqbal and the three other suspects need to be further interrogated. Their seven-day remand ends on Friday. We will seek another seven days to question them,” Special Superintendent Khan Mohammad Rezwan of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) told Dhaka Tribune.
The three other suspects are Ekram, who called 999 to report the incident, and Darogabari shrine caretakers, Hafez Humayun and Faisal.
Earlier on October 23, the four men were produced before the court of a senior judicial magistrate Mithila Jahan Nipa with 10-day remand plea. The court granted seven days.
Also Read - Comilla carnage: Iqbal among four remanded for seven days
Suspect Iqbal, who had been on the run since the incident and arrested from Cox’s Bazar last week, confessed to placing the Quran at the puja pavilion at the city’s Nanuardighi, said police.
"During preliminary interrogation, Iqbal confessed to placing the Quran on the lap of idol of Hanuman (a central character in the Hindu epic of Ramayana), before taking the mace from the idol on October 13," Additional Superintendent of Police M Tanvir Ahmed told the media earlier.
"According to Iqbal, he dumped the mace into a nearby pond later that night," the senior police officer said after Iqbal’s arrest on October 21.
However, investigators from the CID, which took over the probe later, found the mace at a nearby bush upon information gleaned from Iqbal.
Iqbal’s family, however, claims that he is mentally unstable, and someone might have taken advantage of his condition to make him place the Quran.
Also Read - Iqbal 'admits' to placing Holy Quran at Puja venue
On the morning of October 13, a 999 call to police reported that a copy of the Quran was found on an idol of a puja venue at Nanaurdighi.
Locals said they found a copy of the Quran on the lap of the Hanuman idol, but his weapon, a club, was missing.
Several temples and puja venues in the city came under attack in the afternoon as tension mounted over allegations of sacrilege.
The violence later spread across Bangladesh, leaving at least seven dead and many Hindu houses and businesses vandalized.