State appeals seeking stay on bail of Fakhrul, Abbas

The state on Wednesday pleaded to the Appellate Division seeking stay on the bail granted to opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and the party’s standing committee member Mirza Abbas.

The High Court granted the bail to them on Tuesday in a case filed in connection with a clash between police and BNP leaders and activists in front of the party’s head office in the capital's Naya Paltan area on 7 December.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, additional attorney general SM Monir said, “An appeal has been made seeking stay on the bail order granted by the High Court to Mirza Fakhrul and Mirza Abbas. We will try to have hearing on the appeal at the chamber court of the Appellate Division.”

Mirza Fakhrul and Mirza Abbas filed the bail plea with the High Court on Monday and it was heard on Tuesday.

Following the hearing, an HC bench, comprising justice Md Salim and justice Md Riaz Uddin Khan, passed the six-month bail order including a ruling on Tuesday.

Immediately after the order, additional attorney general SM Monir told Prothom Alo that an appeal will be made to the chamber court seeking a stay order on bail granted to Mirza Fakhrul and Mirza Abbas.

He further said the appeal will be filed immediately as Tk 200,000 was found in the drawer of the secretary general and crude bombs have been found in his office. In the primary investigation, it has been found that they are the planners and instigators, which has been mentioned in the forwarding letter of accused, Monir added.

Earlier, the bail appeals of Mirza Fakhrul and Mirza Abbas in the same lawsuit were turned down thrice at the court of chief metropolitan magistrate court in Dhaka. Lastly, on 21 December, Dhaka metropolitan sessions judge court also declined the bail appeal.

In this context, the two opposition leaders filed the bail plea with the High Court.

Earlier, the two BNP leaders were detained from their residences in the small hours of 9 December, just before the party’s Dhaka division rally, held on 10 December, and taken to the headquarters of detective branch (DB) of police.

In afternoon that day they were shown arrested in a case filed on charges of “planning and instigating attack on police in Dhaka’s Naya Paltan on 7 December”.

They were sent to jail that day.