A Dhaka court yesterday rejected the bail and remand petitions of six senior BNP leaders including MK Anwar, Barrister Moudud Ahmed and Rafiqul Islam Mia and sent them to jail in three cases filed over the Hefazat-e-Islam violence in the city on May 5 last year.
The other accused in the cases are Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokan, Abdul Awal Mintoo and Shimul Biswas.
Moudud, Anwar and Rafiqul are the BNP standing committee members while Abdul Awal Mintoo is an adviser to party Chairperson Khaleda Zia, Shimul Biswas her special assistant, and Mahbub Uddin Khokan its joint secretary general.
Metropolitan Magistrate Mizanur Rahman passed the order when the investigation officers of the cases produced the BNP leaders before the court seeking a 27-day remand for each of the accused.
The defence lawyers filed separate bail petitions of the leaders.
After hearing, the court rejected the bail pleas. The court, however, permitted the investigation officers to grill the accused at the jail gate within seven working days.
Of the three cases, one was filed with Motijheel police station in connection with death of sub-inspector Md Shahjahan during a clash between law enforcers and Hefazat men in the capital on May 5 last year.
Later, police filed two other cases, one for vandalism and another for arson, with the same police station.
Moudud, Anwar and Rafiqul were detained from in front of Sonargaon Hotel on November 8 last year while Abdul Awal Mintoo and Shimul Biswas were detained from outside the Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan residence a few hours later on the same day.
On December 26 evening, Mahbub Uddin Khokan was detained from in front of Matsya Bhaban in the capital.
In another case filed with Mohammadpur police station on October 26 last year, a Dhaka court also rejected the bail and remand pleas for BNP leader and former Dhaka City Corporation mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka and sent him to jail.
Metropolitan Magistrate Amit Kumar Dey passed the order while the investigation officer sought a 10-day remand.
After hearing, the court issued an order that the investigation officer quiz him within 10 working days in front of jail gate.
Another Dhaka court sent BNP Vice-Chairman major (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed to jail as the bail and remand hearing against the leader was not held yesterday for lack of documents of the case filed with Motijheel police station.
The chief metropolitan magistrate court fixed January 21 for hearing on the two petitions.
Earlier on December 29, Hafiz was detained while he came out of the Jatiya Press Club in the capital after announcing an agitation programme on behalf of the BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance.
