Fifteen sent to jail in case over attack, arson at Prothom Alo office

A court has ordered that 15 accused arrested in connection with the attack, looting, and arson at the Prothom Alo office be sent to jail. The order was issued today, Monday, by Dhaka metropolitan magistrate Jewel Rana.

At around 4:00pm today, the accused were brought to the court lock-up and were produced before the court at around 5:15pm.

Omar Faruk Faruki, Public Prosecutor of the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court, said that the investigating officer of the case, Tejgaon police station inspector Abdul Hannan, applied to keep the accused in jail until the investigation is completed.

On the other hand, lawyers for 12 of the accused sought bail, while three accused had no legal representation. The prosecution argued against granting bail. After hearing the arguments, the court rejected the bail petitions and ordered that all the accused be sent to jail.

The accused sent to jail are Md Naim Islam (25), Md Sagar Islam (37), Md Ahad Sheikh (20), Md Biplob (20), Md Nazrul Islam Minhaj (20), Md Jahangir (28), Md Sohel Mia (25), Md Hasan (22), Md Russell (26), Md Abdul Barek Sheikh Alamin (31), Md Rashedul Islam (25), Md Saidur Rahman (25), Abul Kashem (33), Md Pranta Sikder (21), and Md Raju Ahmed (33).

In the application seeking to keep the accused in custody, it was stated that during the investigation, the accused were arrested in multiple raids based on questioning people from various levels of the area and on specific information obtained from sources. From the No 1 accused, Md Naim Islam (25), looted cash amounting to Tk 50,000 and one refrigerator and one LED television purchased with looted money were recovered. The investigation is ongoing, and verification of the accused persons’ names and addresses is underway. In the interest of a proper investigation, it is necessary to keep the arrested accused in jail custody until their address verification and the investigation are completed.

A case was filed at Tejgaon police station in the capital at around 12:10am early Sunday against 400 to 500 unidentified persons in connection with the attack, vandalism, looting, and arson at the Prothom Alo office. The case was filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act, the Special Powers Act, and the Cyber Security Ordinance.

The case includes allegations of inciting riots, illegally entering the office, looting and causing damage, committing arson with intent to kill, issuing threats, and destroying evidence. It also alleges arson and vandalism aimed at halting publication of Prothom Alo and obstructing office operations, as well as providing instructions online for criminal activities and carrying out acts of sabotage.

The case statement notes that the value of property looted during the attack, vandalism, and arson alone amounted to Tk 25 million. Prothom Alo further stated in the case that the total preliminary damage is estimated at Tk 320 million.

According to the case statement, CCTV footage of the attack as well as video footage from various media outlets are available.