HC teems with accused in ‘fictitious’ cases

People from every nook and corner of the country swarmed the High Court premises on Monday. From all ages and professions, they came to Dhaka with a common goal, to get anticipatory bail in ‘fictitious cases’ filed by the police.

The people came from Mymensingh, Netrokona, Sylhet, Sirajganj, Jashore, Satkhira and Dhaka, of all ages, even octogenarians. They all were indicted in cases such as vandalism, assault on police or hurling crude bombs.

Opposition Bangladesh National Party alleged that some 4,182 such politically-charged fictitious cases were filed against BNP leaders and activists and general people throughout the country in one and half months starting from last September.

They alleged that the police at the behest of its high-ups filed those cases to keep BNP activists on the run ahead of 30 December elections.

A total of 88,000 named men and more than another 300,000 were indicted in those fictitious cases, alleged the party.

Shahidullah Sarder from Jashore’s Monirampur upazila was among those who sought HC bail on Monday. He was accused in a case filed under explosive act.

Asked about the case, Shahidullah said that his two grandchildren were injured in a crude bomb blast while playing near his house on 14 January. They had to be admitted in a hospital for ten days.

Although his family were the sufferers, Shahidullah was made number one accused in case filed over the incident.

Octogenarian Amir Hamza and sexagenarian Abdul Alim from Shahjadpur upazila of Sirajganj also came to take anticipatory bail in another such case.

They said some 74 men were indicted in a case filed with Shahzadpur police station for assaulting police and throwing explosive before 30 December parliamentary elections. A total of 24 of them came to HC and secured bail on Monday.

They had to bear the expense of traveling to Dhaka while a BNP leader is bearing the costs of legal services, said the accused.

Amir Hamza, a farmer, maintained that he was never involved with politics.

“It’s time to cultivate the Irri variety of paddy but we are forced to come to the court,” he said.

Another group of 20 men, who came from Gowainghat upazila of Sylhet, was sitting in front of Annex building.

They all are lower income people, either farmer or labor of a stone quarry.

Police filed a case accusing some 101 men in connection with violence in the day of 30 December polls.

Sexagenarian Tajimul Ali, one of the accused of the case, said that he heard of clashes in a polling center in their locality.

He then learnt that he along with his four sons was accused in the case.

The accused said that they cannot go to work or stay at their home at night as the police regularly raid their house. BNP leaders are not providing them any assistance as they have no involvement with the party.

Officer in charge (investigation) of Gowainghat police station Hillol Roy claimed that the profession of the accused did not matter as the local BNP men carried general people while attacking the police.

Several officers of the local police stations did not want to speak openly about those cases. But some officials, on condition of anonymity, said that they heard the police headquarters will soon give directives to drop the names of innocent people from those cases.

Deputy inspector general (Media) of the police headquarters Ruhul Amin, however, said he do not know any such initiative.