Three top BNP leaders -- Barrister Moudud Ahmed, Barkatullah Bulu Shahid, and Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie -- were released from Kashimpur jail today, a day after securing bail in all seven cases filed over the March 2 and March 6 violence in the city.
Leaders and activists of BNP and its front organistions received them with bouquets as soon as the trio came out of the jail gate at about 11am, news agency UNB reported.
A Dhaka court on Sunday granted bail to BNP standing committee member Moudud, joint secretary general Bulu and student affairs secretary Annie.
However, the court denied bail to its other top seven leaders, including acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, in the same cases.
The bail petitions of those turned down also include Mirza Abbas and Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, both standing committee members, vice-chairman Abdullah Al-Noman, joint secretaries general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Amanullah Aman, and Jubo Dal president Moazzem Hossain Alal.
Metropolitan sessions judge M Jahurul Haque of Dhaka passed the order after hearing bail petitions filed by the top BNP leaders.
The opposition leaders filed the bail petitions with the court on April 9 challenging the orders of three lower courts sending them to jail.
On April 7, three Dhaka courts rejected the bail petitions of the 10 senior BNP leaders and sent them to jail when they surrendered before the courts.
Of the cases, four were filed with Paltan Police Station, two with Ramna and one with Shahjahanpur police stations. Two of the Paltan cases and the Shahjahanpur one were filed under the Speedy Trial Act, while the rest were filed under the Explosive Substance Act.
Police filed the cases against the BNP leaders and activists on charges of torching and damaging vehicles, and attacking cops during the violence in the city’s Kakrail, Shantinagar and Shahjahanpur areas on March 2 and March 6.
